A Long Way From Home, A Long Way To Rome
by Huricain
Summary: Antiochis had a quiet life in the city of Korinthos until the Romans destroyed it. Now she is a favored slave in the household of Praetor Perseus Julius. As time goes on things become simultaneously more difficult and wonderous for them. Annabeth, born Antiochis, stands with her lover, the mighty Perseus, making her one of the most powerful women in the Republic of Rome.
1. Chapter 1- East of Eden

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing you may recognize.**

 **Just to lay down some basics:**

 **Antiochis is Annabeth's Greek name. Annabeth will be her Roman name. Antiochis is pronounced, in English, Annie-ock-hiss, but the Greek pronunciation is Antie-OH-kiss.**

 **Korinthos is the Greek spelling of Corinth.**

 **Agapitos is a pet name in Greek.**

 **Mikri Prinkipissa means 'little princess'**

 **Kallisto is not the equivalent of Calypso, though they'll be similar later in the story**

 **Tryphena is not Thalia's equivalent. Tryphena isn't a very important character.**

Annabeth would like to go on record as saying that all of her problems are caused by Roman men and that if Greek women were the world's leaders the Earth would be rampaged by fires that created warmth and not by ones that destroy the homes of Korinthons. Sure, her greatest blessing was a Roman man and, if she had to say, she'd pin her mother leaving as her biggest heartbreak, but generally, she hated Romans and loved Greeks. She just wanted to get that statement out on the table before delving into the background of how she came up with such a bold statement. The story starts in her beloved Korinthos.

"Pappous! Aye, Pappous! Where do you want me to put this?" Annabeth lifted the amphora of olive oil up for her grandfather to see. He just waved his hand in response. Annabeth blew a lock of blonde hair out of her face.

"Yiayia! Where do you want me to put this?" Agan, Annabeth lifted the amphora, though this time it was in the opposite direction so her grandmother could see it. Nemerte raised her head from the fish she was salting.

"Nuah," she made the teeth sucking sound that only Greek mothers and grandmothers seemed to do and waved Annabeth over.

'Ah ah," Nemerte pointed in front of her. Annabeth set the amphora down and walked behind her grandmother.

"What are you doing, Yiayia?' She asked.

Again, Nemerte made a sucking sound, "What does it look like I'm doing, Antiochis? Use your head! I'm salting some damn fish!"

"No, Yiayia, you've rubbed so much salt on it it's peeling. Here, give that to me, I will salt it. Go entertain yourself with some painting."

Annabeth reached down to take the fish from her grandmother's hands. Nemerte dropped the fish and started to bat at Annabeth's hands, but she caught them and gave her grandmother a stern look, "Yiayia, you are too old. Let me help you. Go, I made you more paint last night. It's in the gynaikon. Use it before it dries up, we are running low on animal glue."

Nemerte made the sucking sound again but picked herself up off the floor and hobbled over to her easel.

Annabeth was tempted to make the lip-smacking sound when she realized her grandmother had forgotten to wash the fish and remove all the bleeding, but she knew if her Yiayia heard her she'd get an ass-whooping that would leave her sore for a week. She moved the fish to a pile that they would have to keep at home. Blood clots caused discoloration, and imperfect fish wouldn't sell at the market.

She grabbed another fish from the basket and cut off its head and began to gut it.

"Ucalegon! Agapitos! Come here!"

"Eh?" Annabeth's grandfather replied.

"I said come here, listen to me!"

"Eh?"

Annabeth sighed, "Pappous! Go to Yiayia!" She yelled at her grandfather, hoping he heard her. He seemed to because he got up to go to his wife.

He said nothing when he reached her but his eyes were wide.

"Ucalegon, what color should I use for this chiton? It's Antiochis."

Ucalegon looked back at Annabeth and smiled. "Our mikri prinkipissa? Royalty gets purpur! Use purpur, Nemerte!" He said it with the excitement of a child.

Annabeth and Nemerte laughed.

"Aye, agapitos," Nemerte put her colorful hands on her husband's cheeks. Ucalegon pulled her hands off his cheeks, "Ah, Nemer, look at this, now I am green!"

Nemerte laughed as Ucalegon went back to counting their shop's coins. Annabeth could hear him mumbling to himself as he did so. Annabeth finished salting her fish. Yiayia was humming quietly to herself as she painted. Annabeth walked over to her grandfather.

"How are we looking, Pappous?" Ucalegon just shook his head.

"Aye, agapitos, we will get through this month's taxes. But you will have to make your own calcei. I know it hurts your feet to go down to the diolkos, but we do not have the money to pay Pelegon full price, and we have already had to pay him the rest of the price of Yiayia's sandalias with grain."

Annabeth made the teeth sucking sound, "Nay, it's alright. Perhaps with me making my own calcei, they will be the right size for my feet. Pelegon always makes them too big. Besides, Yiayia's sandalias are more important. I think her back is beginning to hurt her too much for her to stand long periods."

Ucalegon looked sadly at his wife, "My poor Nemerte, I never imagined that one day she would slow down. Sometimes, when I wake up, her face has no wrinkles, and I can pretend she is still healthy."

Annabeth looked sadly between her grandparents.

"Pappous, she may not have long, especially without a physician, but she is so happy. She has you and me, and she had a granddaughter. She still says we are the greatest things in her life. She's happy, that's all she wants in life."

Ucalegon just sighed and shook his head, "Go, Antiochis. Your brother wanted you to help him down at the diolkos. Be careful, those sailors are downright idiots. Wear your calcei."

Annabeth made the teeth sucking sound, "They don't stay on my feet, Pappous. Perhaps I can get Lucas to help Malcolm," She mused.

"Antiochis, don't you go flirting with that man again! Stay away from him! I'm telling you, he has no charm! I don't trust him!" She heard her Yiayia's voice from across the room.

"Just because he has no charm doesn't mean he won't do what I ask him!" Annabeth yelled back at her grandmother.

"Nuah," the teeth sucking sound came again, "You're brother and I will speak of this when you two come back home." Nemerte sounded final.

Annabeth just shook her head and walked out the door with the command to stay safe The diolkos was only a ten to minute walk from her house.

Annabeth loved the isthmus' climate. It never got cold enough to be uncomfortable, and she loved the warm summer months. She knew, however, that Malcolm and Lucas were much less content with Korinthos' summer temperatures. They sweat buckets every day under the sun. She stopped at the well on her way down.

"Good morning, Tryphena," She greeted as she approached the well. The pretty young brunette raised her head and grinned at Annabeth.

"Hello, Antiochis," She said in turn.

"Anti!" Came a small voice from next to Tryphena.

"Harmonia! How are you, little one?" The little dark-haired girl came out from behind her mother to hug Annabeth.

"Ew," Harmonia wrinkled her nose, "you smell like dead fish."

Annabeth snorted, "Might be because my family owns a fish and seafood shop."

Tryphena laughed, "You best be glad you're so pretty. No man wants a wife as smart and sarcastic as you."

Annabeth barked out a humorless laugh. Tryphena was a good childhood friend of hers, but she, like the rest of Kornithos and Isthmia, didn't understand her will to be free of a restricting marriage.

"Then they are not the man I want to marry."

Tryphena just rolled her eyes. "Fine. Why are you here, I saw Malcolm down at the diolkos earlier today."

"Yes, I'm heading there now, I was just planning on picking up some water to bring to them."

"Them?"

"Lucas and Malcolm."

"Ah. Well then, you'll need a carrying pole. Here, let me help you," Tryphena stepped out from behind the well. Annabeth noticed how her stomach was bulging even more than the last time she had seen her, which was only two days ago.

"Phena, stop, I can do it myself. I've heard stress and strain is bad for the baby."

Tryphena snorted, "Tell that to this thing," she pointed to Harmonia, who was drawing shaped on the dried mud part of the well.

"Huh?" Harmonia looked up.

"Agapitos, why don't you help me fill these up with water so Mama doesn't hurt herself?" Annabeth asked.

"Okay," Harmonia agreed.

Annabeth filled a bucket up with water and placed it on the ground, "Okay, put the stick through this handle while I fill up the next bucket." Harmonia nodded her head and stuck her tongue out as she pushed the stick through the bucket's handle.

Annabeth set the next bucket on the ground, "Alright, push this through this handle." Harmonia obeyed. Annabeth stepped around the carrying pole and pushed her head and shoulders beneath it. She lifted herself up into a squat and then puckered her lips for a kiss from Harmonia, who placed her tiny hands on Annabeth's cheeks and placed a wet kiss on her lips. Annabeth laughed and stood up fully, giving the two girls a goodbye.

The water was accepted gratefully by the two boys. Luke ended up pouring the entire bucket over his head, while Malcolm simply drank his. Annabeth scolded Luke for wasting all the drinking water while he was working next to an oceanfront. She was hushed when a box of tomatoes was shoved into her hands. She spent the rest of the day loading and unloading ships.

"How's Yiayia?" Malcolm asked on their trek back up to the house.

Annabeth sighed, "As good as a 45-year-old woman can be. She doesn't pay attention to anything anymore. This morning she was salting fish and she forgot to wash the blood off and ended up rubbing too much salt, so the meat was beginning to peel. I hope you don't mind multi-colored fish for the next few days."

Malcolm nodded, "And Pappous?"

"I have never seen such a happy fifty-five-year-old-man. Still, I think he's been stressed about money. He told me this morning that I'd have to make my own calcei. I don't mind, but I think he feels bad."

Malcolm just nodded again, "I'd help you, but babies are expensive, and I think Kallisto is coming down with something. I hope she doesn't pass it to Hecuba. I've heard babies are much more prone to diseases."

It was Annabeth's turn to nod, "Does Kallisto need my help? Elders are time-consuming, but I don't need to watch them every second of the day like a baby."

Malcolm looked thoughtful, "I'll ask Kallisto. She won't want to put Hecuba down, but she'd rather her be healthy. Speaking of babies, when are you having one?"

"Theoi, Malcolm, Yiayia and Pappous tell me not to get married and have children anytime soon, and yet the rest of Korinthos tells me I should get married and have two children by yesterday. Plus, don't you think one newborn in the family is enough?"

Malcolm shrugged, "Kallisto is your age and married with a child. Does it not bother you that you are so far behind all your friends?"

"Does it not bother you that your wife is eleven years younger than you?" Annabeth shot back.

"Mitera and Pateras were twelve years apart. Tryphena and her husband are fourteen years apart. Frankly, I consider myself lucky to only be 26 and married to a 15-year-old. Most men are married to fourteen-year-olds when they are around thirty. Plus, Kallisto seems to dig me," Malcolm shot his sister a wink.

"Eww! Mal, that's nasty, I never wanted to know about you and Kallisto's intimate life!"

Malcolm gave her a blank stare, "We have a kid." He turned his head forwards and then to her again, this time with a concerned look on his face, "You do know how babies are made, right?"

"Yes, Malcolm, I do. I don't want to have this conversation with you."

"Ah, me neither," Lucas was walking behind them. Annabeth almost jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Well then it's a good thing this is a conversation between my sister and I and not you and I." Malcolm's voice was hard.

"I dunno, if everything goes according to plan then I'll be the one your sister is making babies with, eh, Anti?" Lucas gave Annabeth a suggestive look. She paid him no heed.

"Go home, Lucas." Again, Malcolm's voice was stone cold.

"I am, Frederickson," Lucas used Malcolm's father's name. Annabeth knew he'd done it just to get under her brother's skin, but by the look on his face, Lucas had succeeded.

"That's enough, boys. Luke, go home. And don't you ever use my father's name in vain. Come on, Mal, let's go home," Annabeth put a hand on her brother's back and guided him towards the two mud homes with a connected corridor. Lucas headed west to his home, which was set closer to the Gulf of Corinth. The Ucalegonson home was closer to the Saronic Gulf.

"Pappous, we're back!"

"Kalli, we're back!"

Both Fredrickson kids yelled at the same time when they stepped into the home.

Annabeth mock gasped, "Greeting your wife before greeting your elders! May Zeus smite you!"

Malcolm laughed, "That's just what you do when you're in love." He swept his wife into a kiss.

"This is why Antiochis was always my favorite," Nemerte said as she brushed past Malcolm to plant a kiss on her granddaughter's cheek.

"Nay, she was always your favorite because she was the cuter kid and ended up being the prettier of the two of us. How anyone could surpass me in the looks department is beyond me," Malcolm replied to his grandmother.

"And here I thought Anti was the prideful one," Kallisto told her husband. Malcolm laughed in reply. Hecuba, hearing her father's laughed, began to giggle and gargle.

"Hey, there's my sweet mikri prinkipissa!"Malcolm scooped his daughter into his arms.

"Aye, there are four women in this house and not a single one of them is cooking. Hurry up, I'm hungry," Ucalegon's voice grew louder as he walked closer to the cluster of people.

"Well, agapitos, Antiochis has been working in the sun all day, I've been salting fish and painting pottery, and Kallisto's been taking care of baby Hecuba. Maybe if you learned to cook for yourself dinner would be ready sooner," Nemerte replied.

Annabeth and Malcolm snickered.

"What do you want? We have fish, bread, fish, and bread, or bread and fish," Annabeth asked the family.

"Nay, don't be so pessimistic, Antiochis. I picked fruits earlier today. I have grapes, figs, and olives over at my house. Here, I had been planning on bringing them over to you soon. Let me go get them," Kallisto ran down the corridor that connected her home and her in-law's. She returned carrying a kakkabos overflowing with figs and grapes, plus another basket set on top of it covered in what looked to be mollusks.

"Here, I found some oysters, too. Eat them quickly before they go bad. There are pomegranates in there, too," Kallisto went to grab a pan or a clibanus, but Annabeth stopped her.

"Malcolm tells me he is afraid that you are coming down with something. There is no need for you to get the rest of us sick as well. Go, entertain the family."

Kallisto looked like she wanted to protest but decided against it.

She grabbed a chelys on her way into the living room.

"Hoson zês, phainou,

mêden holôs su lupou;

pros oligon esti to zên,

to telos ho chronos apaitei."

Ucalegon grabbed a kithora and began to sing along with Kallisto. Annabeth swayed her hips as she sprinkled various spices in the pan that held fish and olive oil. The best thing about Greek pulses was that they rarely needed large fires. Of course, cooking for three adults, two teenagers, and a baby usually required more than a large fire, but Annabeth had done this before. She knew how much oil to put in with a certain number of fish. Plus, adding more oregano and paprika made the fish taste hotter and more cooked.

She cut her bread into thick slices, placed strips of fish meat on them, and then drizzled a garum overtop of the bread and fish. She added parsley, grapes, and figs to the side, and then started to crack open the oysters. She mashed majority of them up so they were all in one bowl and then covered them with basil, thyme, fennel seed, garlic, and coriander. She spooned a portion onto each person's plate. She took the oysters she hadn't put into the bowl of spices and mashed them up in a smaller bowl. She only sprinkled fennel seed on this batch and then mashed up some coriander and placed that in the bowl, too.

"Aye!" she yelled, "Dinner!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

Kallisto and the adults all yelled as they piled onto the cushions. Annabeth set a plate in front of everyone. She sat a pile of cushions up in the corner for Hecuba to sit up and then placed the bowl of fennel seed and coriander covered oysters in front of her. Hecuba immediately pushed her hand into the goo and then balled her fist to grab some of the oysters. She stuffed her fist in her mouth and grinned at her aunt through her fist-filled mouth. Annabeth laughed and left to get a cloth to place under the baby.

"Oh, Antiochis, you didn't have to make her food, I'll just give her milk when I'm done," Kallisto noticed her sister-in-law by her daughter.

"Aye, she seems to like it anyway. Malcolm, by Zeus, you are going to Tartarus. Don't eat before you've given the gods an offering," Annabeth turned her attention to her brother.

Malcolm's eyes widened and he scampered over to the cooking fire and spanned nearly half his plate into it. He closed his eyes and mumbled a prayer before going back to sit on the cushion next to his wife. Annabeth went to the fire after everyone else had.

She prayed to Athena to keep her town safe from war and harm, and from the barbarians, she had heard were making their way down from Macedonia. She prayed to Hera and Artemis to let her retain control of her own maidenhood. She prayed to Apollo to heal whatever it was Malcolm was worried about affecting Kallisto, and for her Yiayia's health. She prayed to Hermes for trade to prosper in her family's fish shop. Perhaps it wasn't the most glamorous living, but it paid taxes.

When she sat back down she had perhaps a third of her plate left.

"You were over there for a while, Antiochis. Everything okay?" Malcolm asked through a mouthful of bread and fish.

Annabeth wrinkled her nose, "You're nasty. Swallow your food. Kalli, how could such a pretty girl like you marry such and insolent boor like my brother?"

"He's the only one who would take me for three goats and twenty-four chickens," she answered. Annabeth laughed.

"But really, Antiochis, is something bothering you?" Kallisto pushed. Annabeth would rather not stress her family about her maidenhood or bring up any of their other problems, so she simply said she was concerned about the barbarians to the North.

"Aye, nobody has called any of our soldiers up North, so the Macedonians must be handling them just fine," Ucalegon piped in.

"Either that or they've been defeated and they're all dead and that's why no one has called upon Korinthian soldiers," Nemerte replied without looking up from her food.

"Always my ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, aren't you, Nemer?" Ucalegon's voice held a sardonic feel. His wife shrugged in reply.

"I don't know, Pappous. I fear that there's a chance Yiayia is right. I've heard rumors that the barbarians are ruthless. I just hope the Macedonians hold off long enough for me to watch Hecuba grow up and, perhaps, for me to gain a son?" Malcolm peered at his wife.

Kallisto snorted. "I pushed that thing out less than half a year ago. Let my body rest."

"Don't call that sweet child a thing," Annabeth replied.

"Yeah, that's my little girl you're talking about, Kal-" fennel seed and coriander covered oysters hit Malcolm right below his eye before he could finish his sentence.

Annabeth laughed, "Nice shot, tiny!" Hecuba grinned at her aunt.

Malcolm mumbled something about all his girls ganging up on him.

After dinner, Malcolm, Kallisto, and Hecuba left to their own home.

Greek houses were really quite simple, especially those of poorer merchants and craftsmen. Women occupied the upstairs (if there was one) and the back part of the house, away from prying eyes. Men and women commonly slept and ate in separate rooms, even if they were married. Nemerte and Ucalegon didn't, and neither did Malcolm and Kallisto. Again, the houses of poor merchants were simple, with fewer rooms. Annabeth was the only one who had her own chamber, and even then it was small, closer to the size of a slave's quarter than anything. Still, she quite enjoyed her little space.

Their courtyard was situated between the two houses. Ucalegon had Malcolm's house built for him as a wedding gift, but both Malcolm and Kallisto (and Annabeth, though she'd never admit it) wanted a corridor connecting the two houses. The corridor was built at the back of the two houses, leaving room for a pretty courtyard sandwiched nicely in between the two structures. Annabeth and Kallisto spent as much time planting in the gardens as they could. It was like their sister bonding time. Now that Kallisto had Hecuba she brought the baby outside to sit alongside her mother and aunt while they worked. Those were some of the most peaceful times in Annabeth's life.

Furniture in bedrooms were minimal. Annabeth herself only had a bed and a trunk for her clothes. She had a cosmetics jar to keep her makeup and jewelry in, but even then it was set on the floor next to her trunk. She knew her Yiayia had a vanity to put her cosmetics and jewelry on, but then again, she was the mistress of the house.

Annabeth quietly moved around the house, washing dishes, placing pans back in the cupboards, situating the cushions so they didn't take up the entire floor, and sweeping.

She had just finished sweeping some dirt into the pile she was collecting when there was a knock on the door. Annabeth looked up, surprised. Since the sun was down there was no way for her to tell what time it was, but everyone else had gone to bed a while ago.

Women didn't open doors in the Greek society, so Annabeth stayed put. She wasn't permitted to enter her grandparent's bedroom, so the knocking would have to wake her grandfather up.

The knocking got louder. Surely it wasn't Malcolm, because he would have just entered the house through the corridor.

Again, the knocking got louder. Annabeth hoped it would wake her grandfather up because at this point she was bursting with curiosity. After another round of knocking came and her grandfather still wasn't coming from his room Annabeth left to get Malcolm. Perhaps she wasn't permitted in her grandparents' room, but she had no qualms about entering into her brother's chamber.

Despite the consistent knocking outside, Annabeth was surprised to see Malcolm up. Hecuba and Kallisto were awake, though that was probably because they were nursing.

"Who's at the door, Antiochis?" Malcolm demanded.

"That's what I was coming to ask you."

"Kallisto, come with me." Malcolm left to go to the house of Ucalegon. The girls followed.

Malcolm lead then to the door of his grandparents' rooms.

"Pappous! Yiayia! Wake up, there's someone at the door!"

Nemerte opened the door, "I know someone is at the door. It's you. Why did you wake me up so early?"

"Because there's someone at the door."

"I know, it's you. Why are you at my door?"

"No, Yiayia, there is someone at the front door. ANd it's night, so wake Pappous up and tell him to be alert."

"Go back to bed, Malcolm. They'll leave eventually."

"No, Yiayia, they've been knocking for almost ten minutes now," Annabeth stepped in. Nemerte seemed to realize the other girls were there.

"Nuah," she sucked her teeth, "I'll wake your Pappous up. Get out of my door, shoo." The door shut and then reopened, this time with both persons at the door.

"It's probably just some shepherd boys being bored, you can answer it yourself, Malcolm. There's no reason to wake an old man up," Ucalegon grumbled. Malcolm stayed silent.

Ucalegon took the board off the door and peered out, "Eh?"

"Open the door wider." The voice on the other side of the door was gruff.

Ucalegon opened the door only slightly wider.

"Dammit, open the door all the way," the man demanded.

"I- I can't, I have my granddaughters and wife here with me," Ucalegon's voice stuttered at the man's brashness.

"I don't care, open the door."

Ucalegon stuck his head out and Annabeth heard a gasp. Before her grandmother could stop her she raced to the door and peered over her grandfather's shoulder. Her eyes widened at what she saw and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from gasping out loud.

Lucas stood in the doorway, completely dressed and ready for the day, even though it was still dark out.

"Antiochis, tell your pappous to let me in," he demanded.

Annabeth looked at her grandfather and nodded at him. Ucalegon opened the door all the way so Luke could enter. He did so and immediately made himself at home on the cushions Annabeth had just finished arranging.

He leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees and put his head in his hands.

"I have done something that you will not like, my Antiochis," he said.

Annabeth said nothing put crept towards him, tightening her palla around her. When she was a few feet away from Lucas he jumped up and grabbed her hands.

"Come with me, we have to go," his voice was on the edge of frantic, "Come with me, my sweet. Take your family if you must, but pack quickly, we have to leave soon. They will be here soon."

"Luke, what's wrong? What happened? What did you do? Who is coming? What's going on?"

Luke smiled ruefully, "Antiochis, my dear, I've done this so we could have a better life. I don't want you rotting away, salting fish and caring for your old and senile guardians. I can give you everything you would ever need or desire back in The City. They will burn this good-for-nothing town and I'll take you back to the city with me, where we can spend the rest of our lives and grow old together with slaves waiting on us hand and foot. Come, my sweet, let's go before anything too, ah, gruesome occurs."

Annabeth's eyes widened, "Who? Who is coming?"

"Antiochis, come here, he is delusional. Don't listen to him, everything is fine. Lucas, you need to leave," Ucalegon said. Malcolm was nodding behind him and pulled his sister away.

"No, take him with you if you want him to live, Antiochis. They will never spare a lowly fish merchant," Luke spit the words out as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.

Annabeth was torn, her shoulders being held by her brother and her hands still wrapped in Luke's.

"Antiochis, if you are coming with me we have to leave now. They are about to dock."

"Who?" Annabeth cried, "Who is coming, Luke? Why won't you tell me?"

"Come with me!" He was shouting, though it sounded more frustrated than concerned.

"Lucas, leave us! You're scaring her!" Malcolm shouted. Hecuba began to cry.

Luke's eyes were aflame, "Fine! I'll leave! But, Antiochis, you will regret this. They will come, and they will kill your brother and grandfather, and rape your women. Even Nemerte, who is shriveled up like a prune and ugly, will not be spared. That baby you love so much will be beaten and left to be eaten alive by the ants. You and your beloved sister will be taken to The City and be sold as some od pervert's slaves, and you'll spend the rest of your lives warming his bed and dancing for his friends. This is your last chance, Antiochis. Come with me, I can keep you safe from what is to come."

Annabeth looked at him, horrified, "Luke! What is wrong with you? Why would you speak of such horrors in my lovely town?"

"So you are not coming with me?"

"No!"

"Fine, perhaps I will have to buy you at the market, then. Goodbye, my sweet." With that he left, slamming the frail door behind him.

Everyone stood there for a while without saying anything until Nemerte stepped forward towards Annabeth.

"Agapitos," she started, "Come, let's go to bed. Come on, darling." She helped her granddaughter to the back of the house, where her bedroom was. Annabeth paused and looked back at the family. Kallisto looked up at her husband and said something in a quiet voice that Annabeth couldn't catch. Malcolm nodded and Kallisto began to walk over to Annabeth.

"Would you like for me to stay the night with you? It's been a rough night already," Kallisto asked. Annabeth just nodded. Kallisto led her into her room and shut the door Kallisto took a cushion from the floor and set it in a basket. She moved the basket by the bed and gently placed Hecuba inside it. Annabeth took her palla off and spread it out over the thin blanket that covered her wood bed. Kallisto did the same. Annabeth crawled into the bed. Kallisto moved to hush the candle and then crawled into bed with Annabeth.

"Malcolm is sleeping outside in the living room," Kallisto told Annabeth. She nodded.

Annabeth stared at the ceiling while Kallisto adjusted her pillow.

Annabeth felt a pillow hit her face at an aggressive speed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kallisto's voice was soft.

Annabeth shook her head. Kallisto stared at her sister-in-law's face, her body propped up on her elbows.

"Who do you think Lucas was talking about coming to Korinthos?" Annabeth asked.

"A mentally unstable man shows up at your door in the dead of night begging you to come with him to an unnamed city and threatens you and your family if you don't come with him and you're worried about your city?" Kallisto's voice held an element of disbelief, but Annabeth detected a small smile.

"He literally threatened to rape and sell you and leave your baby to be eaten alive, how are you not worried?"

Kallisto's face fell at the harsh imagery, "Please, don't talk like that. I think he was simply speaking the thoughts of a crazed man. I don't believe any of this will really happen."

"But it could, Kalli! He could be talking about the Barbarians from the North or even an army from another polis, and you know they'd destroy the city in a heartbeat."

"Maybe he was seeing things."

"Maybe. But, Kalli, if someone does come, how would he have known? Do you think he could be scheming with an enemy of Korinthos? I've been to the markets, Kalli. The merchants speak of how the other poleis are declining, and wish to overtake Korinthos for its beneficial location in the trade route that connects the Mediterranean. He may have been trying to tell us something."

Kallisto sighed, "Antiochis, why don't we go to bed. It's late, you're tired, and probably a little shaken. Your mind is simply running wild."

Annabeth nodded, agreeing with her sister's logical reasoning.

"You're right, I am tired. Luke probably had some bad fish or something."

Kallisto fell backward onto the bed and cuddled into her pillow. Annabeth snuggled up next to her, loving the warmth she gave off, even in the summer.

She fell asleep to the rise and fall of Kallisto's chest.

 **So, I was originally hesitant to post this, or even start it, because I've seen so many people start stories and never finish them, and I don't want this to happen to this story, but I have chapter 2 written already and I got so excited about this story I'm going to post it anyway. I'm generally trying to keep it as historically accurate as possible, but I'm not sure how I'm doing so far. Let me know what you think. Love you, mean it, make good choices.**


	2. Chapter 2- Things We Lost to the Flames

**WARNING: Gorey mentions of rape and descriptions of death, as well as human trafficking in the form of slave trading.**

She woke up an hour later to screams.

Kallisto woke up with a start a second after Annabeth did. She quickly stumbled out of the bed and grabbed Hecuba, who was wrapped in blankets. She held the baby close to her chest and looked frantically at Annabeth. Annabeth ran out into the hallway to see what the screamed came from and was created by the dead eyes of her grandfather.

"Pappous!" She yelled. She crouched down next to his corpse but was pulled away by Malcolm's arms.

"Come on!" he shouted, "We'll leave through the door of my house and get to the port. We'll board a boat and figure out what to do from there. Where's Kallisto and Hecuba?"

"Here!" Kallisto called out to her husband.

Malcolm led them down the corridor, his arms still on his sister's arm.

"Malcolm, what's going on? Who did this?"

"I'll explain later, come on!"

"Wait!" Annabeth ripped her arm from her brother's grasp, "Where's Yiayia?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't leave Pappous' side until one of the men dragged her away. Let's go," Malcolm grabbed her upper again.

"No! Yiayia! Yiayia!" Annabeth yelled down the corridor and tried to pull away from her brother. There were tears streaming down her face and clouding her vision. Still, she could make out a tiny ball of dark blue robes and long brown hair mixed with white strands.

"Antiochis! Malcolm!"

"Yiayia!" Annabeth ran to her grandmother.

"Alright, let's go. We have to get to the port." Malcolm moved forward quickly, but Annabeth stayed behind with the old woman.

"Malcolm! She's tired, do slower!" She yelled out to her brother.

"We don't have time to go slower! All the ships will be leaving the docks as soon as possible!"

"Malcolm!"

"Anti, my agapitos, leave me here with your pappous. You were right, I am too hold. My bones and heart hurt. I will only slow you down. Go, shoo," her Yiayia shooed her away.

"No, Yiayia!" Annabeth screamed for her grandmother as her brother pulled her away. She was dragged out to the door only to notice a small group of men, only about two or three, placing a torch next to the front of the house. The men looked up and noticed Annabeth's group. Two of the men looked at each other and a third one began to walk over to them.

Annabeth halted her tantrum for a minute to carefully watch the men stalk towards them. Malcolm pulled at her and she remembered the reason she was creating such a disturbance.

"Yiayia! Yiayia!"

The man how had been the first to start walking towards them started running to them. He made to grab at Annabeth's shoulders but Malcolm pulled his sister back.

"Antiochis, dammit, come on, or I'll leave you here!" Malcolm yelled at his still screaming sister.

"Fine! Leave me! Leave me like you're leaving Yiayia!" She responded, thrashing under her brother's hold.

"Yiayia!" She yelled again.

Kallisto made to talk to her sister but the man finally grabbed Annabeth's shoulders and Malcolm pulled his wife closer to him.

The man was looking at Annabeth with something like frantic concern in his eyes. He was saying something to her, but it wasn't in Greek, the only language she could understand.

"Yiayia!" Annabeth yelled again, disregarding the man.

"Yiayia! Yiayia?" The man was repeating her words to Annabeth's face.

"Yiayia!" Annabeth yelled back at him.

The man said more words in his language but Annabeth caught the 'yiayia' at the end.

"Yiayia!" Annabeth shouted again, this time pointing towards the burning house. The man looked behind him and seemed to realize something. He shoved Annabeth back into her brother's arms and went inside the burning house.

Only a minute or so later he emerged carrying something lumpy in his arms.

"Yiayia? The man asked Annabeth and held the thing in his arms out to her.

Annabeth looked down the see the remains of her jewelry box, her grandmother's jewelry box, a woven blanket with a picture of Pallas and Athena on it, a hairbrush, and a handheld mirror resting on the body of an old woman.

"Yiayia!" Annabeth took the old woman's face in her hands. Her face covered in ash and dirt, but she was breathing.

Again, the man said something in his language, but the only thing Annabeth could catch was 'yiayia,' which, this time, was in the middle of the sentence.

Malcolm peeked over his sister's shoulder to see what was in the man's arms. When he saw his grandmother he looked at the man in wonder.

Annabeth could barely see the man's face by the light of the fire, but it looked strong.

The man placed Nemerte in Malcolm's arms and Annabeth took the various objects off her body.

The man nodded once and made a 'go' motion, and Malcolm turned to his wife and began to run as fast as he could with an old woman in his arms.

Annabeth turned to the man to see him watching her brother leave. The man's bold green eyes turned back to her when he felt her grey eyes on him. Annabeth wanted so badly to say thank you to the man, who, from his robes, was not a Greek, and probably the enemy, as he had been with the men setting fire to her house. Granted, he hadn't been the one setting fire, but he had stood back and watched his comrade light the house. Still, the man had gone into the burning remains of a building and not only brought out Annabeth's grandmother but also most of her prized possessions.

Annabeth jumbled the items in her arms in an attempt to hug him in thanks, as Greeks did, but there were too many things in her hands.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," She repeated over and over again, hoping he might understand.

The man looked confused at her words.

Annabeth growled, frustrated. She tried to think of other ways to show her gratitude, but the only option she could think of was rather risque. Still, she felt like she should show him she was grateful in some form or fashion.

With her bundle of items still in her hands, Annabeth surged up onto the tips of her tip-toes and placed a kiss on the man's lips.

When she stepped back to look at him his eyes were wide and he had a dopey smile on his face. Annabeth grinned at him before turning back and running after her brother, who wasn't very far away seeing as he still had to carry Nemerte.

Malcolm looked back to find his sister running at him and the man who had saved his grandmother standing in the same spot he had left him in.

Kallisto stopped when her husband did to look back at him. The port was in sight.

Kallisto felt a pair of hands grasp her shoulders. They yanked her back and she slammed into hard metal. She clutched Hecuba tighter to her chest. The hands were large, most likely a man's. The hands pulled her backward. She let out a scream but it was muffled almost immediately by a hand. Still, it was enough to make Malcolm turn around. His eyes widened at the image he saw.

He laid his grandmother on the ground as gently and quickly as he could.

Annabeth caught up to her brother, or, at least where he had laid Nemerte, and shoved the items into Nemerte's arms before picking the old woman up and helping her hobble to the edge of the port.

Malcolm rushed to his wife and daughter and reached out for them. His hand grabbed his wife's arm and tried to pull her to him. The man took his hand off Kallisto's mouth and reached for a dagger. He raised the dagger above his head with the knife part pointing down. He swiftly brought it down toward Malcolm's head.

Malcolm fell to the ground, his dark blonde hair turning red with blood. His eyes were open, but he couldn't move any part of him.

Kallisto screamed and kicked the strange man in an attempt to free herself from his hold and get to her husband, but his arm tightened around her.

"Antiochis!" She screamed.

Annabeth looked up to see her sister-in-law in the hands of a brute dressed in the same blood-red garbs as the ones setting fires to the Korinthian houses.

"Kallisto!" She shouted back. She looked into the crowd around her to find someone to take her grandmother but before she could comprehend any of the action her shoulders were grabbed by big hands. She screamed and kicked the man, yelling for her yiayia.

Another man dressed in the red robes said something to the man holding Annabeth, and the man grabbed Nemerte, too.

Still, Annabeth screamed and kicked so much that another man came and grabbed her legs. All she could do was squirm between the two men.

"Kallisto!" Annabeth yelled out again.

"Kallisto! Kallisto! Yiayia! Kallisto! Yiayia! Where are you!?" the men dragged her, still screaming her sister and grandmother's names, to a large moving cart. There was a long rectangular trunk attached to a single brown horse. The man threw Annabeth onto the trunk. A few seconds later Annabeth felt her grandmother's body next to her.

"Oh, Yiayia, oh, Yiayia," She crawled over to her grandmother and held her head in her hands. Nemerte's forehead was bleeding and there were bruises around her wrists and up her arms.

"Antiochis, where is your brother?" Nemerte used Annabeth's arms to sit up.

"I don't know. One of the barbarians has Kallisto, have you seen her?" Annabeth answered.

"Antiochis!" Annabeth turned to see her sister on a cart that looked almost exactly like the one she and her grandmother were on.

"Kallisto!"

Annabeth felt a sharp sting on her back and turned to see one of the men in the blood-colored robes holding a whip. When she looked closer she saw small spiked attached to it. No wonder her back hurt so bad. She was sure there was blood dripping down her back, but that was not what she was paying attention to. In the short span of time Annabeth had taken her eyes off Kallisto to look at the whip the cart carrying Kallisto had disappeared.

"Kallisto!" She shouted again.

"Shut up, girl!" One of the men growled at her. This was the first time she'd heard on of them speak Greek and she was stunned into silence for a second. She soon recovered and began to scream out for Kallisto again.

"Here! I'm here!" Annabeth heard Kallisto's sweet voice call from somewhere up ahead.

Annabeth counted everyone off in her head.

Yiayia is with me, Kallisto and Hecuba are up ahead, Pappous is… she remembered the lifeless eyes of her grandfather and the image of a knife sticking out of his chest back at the house. Surely his body had either burned with or been buried under the remains of the house. That meant the only one unaccounted for was Malcolm….. Malcolm!

"Malcolm!" She shouted.

"Malcolm! Malcolm! Megálos aderfós! Malcolm! Where are you!? Malcolm!"

She felt the sting on her back again.

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?" The man had his face right in front of her's.

"Malcolm! I need my brother! Where is he? Give him back, give him back to me!" The tears traveled down her face in waves.

The man raised his hand and slapped Annabeth hard across the face. She fell backward into her grandmother's arms.

"Shh, shh, agapitos, hush, I'm here, I've got you. You're alright, my little one. You're alright."

Annabeth continued to sob in her grandmother's arms.

Her body bounced and she felt the cart stop.

"Get off, girl." The man with the whip commanded her. Before Annabeth could even think of whether to follow the order he had grabbed her by the hair and thrown her onto the boarding plant of a large trireme.

She heard her Yiayia's cried as her granddaughter was ripped from her arms.

"Move!" The whip came down again. Annabeth crawled onto her hands and knees and made to turn around to help her grandmother when a callused hand grabbed her upper arm and hauled her up. The man who had grabbed her threw her onto the deck of the boat, where another man grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back. The man started to lead Annabeth across the deck.

"Yiayia!" Annabeth tried to twist around while still in the man's grasp.

The man grunted and kicked her legs out from under her. Annabeth cried out when her knees hit the deck, but the man just dragged her to a small passageway under the deck. He roughly shoved Annabeth into the room, where at least 50 other Korinthians were already stuffed.

"Antiochis!" She heard her name called and looked up. Kallisto was standing above her, Hecuba nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Antiochis," Kallisto fell to her knees in front of her sister. It was only them that Annabeth noticed the small tuft of dark hair peeking out from under Kallisto's palla.

"Kallisto! Where's Malcolm?" Annabeth huddled closer to her sister.

Kallisto burst into sobs at the mention of her husband.

"He- he- he's gone!"

"What do you mean 'gone'? Did they take him? Is he back at the house? Where is he?"

Kallisto shook her head and sobbed harder, "No, no, they killed him! One of the men grabbed me and Mal- Malcolm tried to grab me and the man stuck a dagger in his head. He's gone, Antiochis, he's gone! They killed him! They killed him for trying to save me!"

Tears were running down Annabeth's face, too.

"Oh, my brother, my big brother," she continued to cry and hugged Kallisto. Her sister squeezed her tighter, Hecuba stuck between them. They stayed like that until another round of Korinthians were shoved in.

"Kallisto! Antiochis!" Nemerte's voice was almost drowned out by the crow. Annabeth probably wouldn't have heard it if she hadn't been listening for it.

"Nemerte!"

"Yiayia!"

Annabeth and Kallisto yelled out at the same time.

Nemerte's head wiped towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw them and she started to hobble over to them. People jostled the old woman and elbowed her, almost knocking her down.

"Stop! Stop! Let her through!" Annabeth yelled and swung her arms out, pushing her way toward her grandmother.

"Yiayia!" The relief in her voice was evident by the time she reached Nemerte.

"Come, come, Kallisto and Hecuba are over in the corner," Annabeth gently grabbed her grandmother's wrist and slowly pulled her along.

"Kallisto!" Nemerte shouted when she caught sight of her.

Kallisto clutched her daughter tighter to her chest and used one hand to wave them over.

"Kallisto," Nemerte repeated when she got to her, "where is Malcolm?"

Annabeth and Kallisto shared a look.

"No, Yiayia, they.. They killed him."

Nemerte wailed, "My boys, both my boys! They took them from me, they took them from us! They took everything from us!" She collapsed into Annabeth's arms. Annabeth gently lowered herself to the ground with her grandmother. Kallisto followed suit.

Another round of captives entered, making the already tight space even tighter. Nemerte's soft body was pressed right up against Annabeth's. Annabeth herself was pressed into Kallisto's shoulder.

Another 15-20 minutes later another round of Korinthians came in. The women huddled together in an attempt to make enough space for everyone to fit.

The men outside shouted things to each other in their language for a minute or to before Annabeth felt the boat begin to rock.

They were leaving Korinthos.

Annabeth looked around. About ⅘ of the group were female. Only a few children that had managed to hang onto their mothers or other relatives were there. Every child Annabeth saw was crying.

She recognized one of the children. It was Harmonia, Tryphena's daughter. Harmonia was clutching to Tryphena's mother. Neither Tryphena nor her husband were anywhere to be seen.

Kallisto's head was resting on Annabeth's shoulder. Her soft breathing indicated that she was asleep. Nemerte was also asleep, he mouth open and drooling.

Annabeth felt a hot liquid running through the cracks in her skin and looked down to see a damp spot on Hecuba's blanket over her nether regions.

It was going to be a long night.

0~0~0~0~0

Annabeth had a foul night's sleep. Her head swam with the image of her grandfather's dead eyes, the sight of her childhood home burning, and the bittersweet memories of her late brother. Every now and then the green eyes of the man who saved her Yiayia would float into her mind, and she'd feel slightly more at ease knowing there was someone with at least half a heart on the ship.

The men with the blood-colored robes woke them up right after dawn. There were four or five men at the entrance of the small room. They all wore the same outfit with various different medals decoration their chests. They looked like Greek soldier, minus the Greek part. They had a plume on their heads that was facing forward instead of spanning out in the shape of a rainbow. Their robes were a blood red color. Their gold helmets covered their entire face, unlike the Greek's helmets, which sat on their head and covered their cheeks, but not the center of their face. The men lacked the blue cape of a Greek soldier, too. Instead, they had something that resembled a shawl of the same blood red material their tunics were made of. Two of the men carried shields, though they were rounded and had a laurel wreath engraved onto it and letters that looked unfamiliar to Annabeth.

One spoke to them in Greek. He introduced himself and his comrades.

"I am Lydus, son of Isidor. I am a centurion of the 7th Cohort of the Dalmation Legio. This is Tertius Florius Agustalis, son of Augustus, and my Primus Ordinis. This is Decius Veturius Maursus, son of Maursis, and my Pilus Prior. And this is Perseus Pompey Julius, Praetor of Roma."

Each man took off their helmet as Lydus introduced them. Tertitus looked around the age of Lydus, maybe a little older, with the same closely cropped brown hair as Lydus, though Tertius' was lighter and his eyes were brown. Decius was an older man, perhaps Nemerte's age, with hair beginning to turn white and dark brown eyes. All the men, even the old Decius, looked gruff and ready for battle.

The last man, Perseus, was, at first glance, a god on Earth. He had black hair darker than the depths of the Aegean sea, and eyes the color of the Saronic Gulf. His skin was a golden color and looked unblemished, but upon closer inspection, it was marred by scars, bruises, and red spots. His face was chiseled and weather-beaten. He looked like the youngest of the group, though probably still at least five years older than Annabeth.

With a start, Annabeth realized that he had been the man to save her Yiayia.

So he really was one of the enemies.

Lydus kept talking, "Yes, we are Romans. And now you are Romi slaves, as your home is no longer. Sorry about that, by the way," Lydus laughed. None of the Korinthians joined in.

"No? Too soon? Ah, well, you will soon forget of Corinth when we reach Rome. The voyage will take ten days or so. Make yourself comfortable, because you are not permitted to leave this room. We'll give you all a few loaves of bread to share with each other a day. Afterward, you will have to rely on your masters for food. On the sixth or seventh day, we will begin taking you out of the room one by one to see what skills you may have and it is then that we will give you a Roman name. We will inform you of anything that concerns you when the time comes. Try not to die, it's disgusting for your fellow slaves and it costs us money. Have a good day, servorum." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Tertius and Decius followed him, but Perseus stayed behind. It was only when the other two men moved that Annabeth realized he was holding something that looked like a long scepter with a centaur on the tip.

Perseus looked around the room, glancing over the faces of every Korinthian until his eyes locked with Annabeth's. She was still conflicted on how to feel about the enemy who had saved her grandmother, so her face remained neutral. His held no emotion, but he nodded his head towards her. He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Or, attempting to shut the door behind him.

The bloody foot of a Korinthian stopped the door from closing all the way. Perseus glanced down the see what was blocking the door. He followed the leg attached to the foot up to the face of a young boy, maybe 10-11. Perseus glanced back down at the boy's foot. There was a cut on it so deep you could see the off-white bone peeking out. Again, Perseus looked back to the boy's face. The child cowers under the Roman's gaze and attempted to pull his foot back. However, it seemed to cause him pain when he moved it because he cried out. He quickly but his lip to silence it, but the agony had been clear

Perseus lowered himself on one knee using his oversized scepter as a means to steady himself. He lowered his other knee to the ground and placed the scepter delicately on the ground next to him. He pulled out a glistening sharp knife from behind him, hidden by his cape. Perseus raised the dagger over himself and the boy and swiftly brought it down. Annabeth gasped as she thought Perseus had maimed the boy. Kallisto buried her head into the crook of Annabeth's neck.

But, amazingly, the boy never screamed. The only sound was the soft ripping of fabric. Perseus had cut a section from his shawl-like cape. He placed the dagger back into its sheath. His hands reached out to grab the boys foot. Before he reached the foot he asked something in his language. The Greek boy sat, confused. Perseus growled and shook his head, obviously frustrated with the language barrier. He simply made a motion with his hands for the boy to hand him his foot. The child did so and Perseus gently wrapped the fabric around his foot in a bandage. He tied the knot directly over where the cut had been.

Perseus smiled at the boy and patted his leg. He grabbed his scepter and used it to push himself up to his feet. With the boy's foot bandaged and out of the way Perseus was able to cloth the door, but not before looking over in Annabeth's direction and giving her a soft smile when he met her eyes. Annabeth peered back at him curiously. His smile just grew wider as he shook his head and shut the door.

 **Okay so here's chapter 2, posted literally right after chapter 1 because this is where everything gets, ah, interesting. I don't know what the average length of the chapters will be, or how often I'll post, but school is almost over so I'm hoping I'll be able to post pretty quickly after exams, which are next week. Anyways, tell me your thoughts. Let's talk, my friends. Love you, mean it, make good choices.**


	3. Chapter 3- The Glow of A Honey Moon

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognize.**

 **Responses to reviews at the bottom of the page.**

 **"Efcharistó" is the Greek word for "thank you," It's pronounced 'ifcar i stow."**

 **Graeci was what the Romans called the Greeks, and they called Greece Graecia**

 **All of the translations, Greek or Latin, are from Google Translate, so don't use this as your homework.**

 **I'm literally a 14-year-old girl I've never breastfeed before but I have done research and manually induced lactation is very possible.**

 **I'm also not a doctor**

 **A mentis is like a therapist**

 **The Romans generally saw blondes as prostitutes until the capture of Gaul, when blonde slaves were brought to Rome. After that women of high class began to dye their hair blonde.**

 **Powerful men have a tendency to be misogynistic. This does not represent my views on women.**

Percy had a lot of things to do and he was really over everyone riding his ass about it. Like, really. He held the highest position of anyone on this ship and people were still telling him what to do. Just now a foot soldier had told him to clean the kitchen. Percy was a little taken aback by the disrespect. Yeah, he still cleaned the kitchen, but it didn't mean he was happy about it.

He was also really over spending 98% of his time thinking about the blonde Graeci. Sure, he had done something nice for her, but that was really an act of humanity. That and he didn't really think he could live with himself not doing anything after he saw her being dragged from the house kicking and screaming.

He had looked for her on the ship. He wasn't sure if he was hoping she had gotten away or if he was hoping she was on the ship. If she had gotten away she might be safe, but if she was on the boat he could take both her and the women she traveled with as his slaves and keep them together.

She had been on the boat.

He saw her up against the wall of the ship, almost in the corner. The young woman with the baby the blonde had been with was leaning up against her shoulder. Percy was relieved to see the small bundle of dark hair in the woman's arms.

He would have never forgiven himself nor his charge if they had left a child to die.

The old woman Percy had seen in the house was with her, too.

Percy remembered when he went in the get her very clearly.

 _Lusio and Hossus were setting fire to a small house three or four miles off the coast where they had landed. Percy was watching quietly off to the side._

 _Truly, Percy did not want to be in the midst of pillaging a village, but Jason had sent him on the trireme anyways. He said that the operation needed a Praetor as an overseer, but Percy knew it had just been to get him away from his sick mother. Jason knew Sally, Percy's mother's, health was a constant stressor, so with the promise to watch over her and take her to see the physician as often as possible, Percy left Jason and his mother to head to Graecia._

 _Still, Percy was kept awake at night with worry for his mother._

 _"Aye, Praetor, you see that pretty girlie over there?"_

 _Percy looked over to when Lucio was pointing. He saw a pretty face etched with worry. As his eyes trailed down the girl's body he saw the bundle of blankets held tight to her chest. It was either items taken from the home or a baby. Percy was about to walk over to the woman to lead her and her baby safely to a boat when he heard ear-piercing screams._

 _He looked over to the girl's left to see a man and woman both with sandy blonde hair and grey eyes arguing in Graeci. The man looked pissed at the woman, who, now that Percy looked closer, looked about the age of the girl with the baby, maybe somewhere between 14-17. Percy couldn't understand what the woman was saying, but he could tell she was mad from the way she was spitting the words out of her mouth._

 _The woman yelled something that sounded like a baby's cry. Despite the fact that she was yelling pure gibberish she had a look of frantic fear in her eyes. Percy started to jog over to the woman, hoping maybe he could calm her down and then get her and her… sister? Friend? Mistress? Whoever she was to her, Percy hoped the blonde settled down and cooperated to get the mother to safety._

 _Percy reached the woman and tried to hold onto her shoulders, but the blond man pulled her closer to him. He gave Percy a hard look. For a minute Percy thought they might be husband and wife, but then he looked between them and saw the same elegance in their faces as well as the exact same curly sand-colored hair and slate grey eyes. They were obviously related, most likely brother and sister._

 _They yelled at each other again in their baby-talk gibberish._

 _The girl tried to wriggle out of the man's hold and screamed the same word she had been saying over and over again. Percy concluded that the word was a noun, he just wasn't sure if it was a proper noun or regular noun._

 _Percy placed both hands on the girl's shoulders as gently as he could while restraining her. His mind jumbled up his words as he stared at her face, realizing just how incredibly beautiful it was. As he had noticed before, it carried a sort of elegance like that of a queen. Her face had the high cheekbones and sharp jaw of most Graeci women, and her eyebrows had a high arch to them, though they were threaded together with worry at the moment. Her pretty eyes were almond shaped, complimenting her facial structure._

 _"Stop! You need to go! You need to take your family and run!" Percy snapped back to yell over her screams and the shrieks of the Graeci as their homes burned in the background. The woman looked slightly confused at his words but continued to scream the word._

 _"Yaya! Yaya?" He tried to maybe get her to motion for something that might tell him what a 'yaya' was._

 _"Yiayia!" The girl shouted back at him, right in his face._

 _"I don't know what a 'yaya' is!"_

 _"Yiayia!" The girl yelled again, though this time she pointed to the house._

 _"Of course," he thought, "She wants something that is inside the house. The only problem is I don't know if she wants a person, or an animal, or an object. Perhaps she wants her jewelry. That would be the first thing Rachel would grab from our house if there was ever a fire."_

 _Regardless of his lack of understanding, he raced back inside the house. He scavenged the rooms, looking for anything of value. There was a handheld mirror with pretty stones on it, so he took that. He found an intricately carved hairbrush next to the mirror. He grabbed it. There was a large jewelry box on the vanity the mirror and brush had been on. Rachel kept her jewelry in a box, and when Percy opened it he found that it was indeed filled with large earrings, necklaces, and rings. He took that, too._

 _As he ventured further into the house the smoke got thicker. Percy remembered that Lusio and Hossus had started the fire at the door on the left, and he had entered from the door on the right. He went into a small room and noticed another jewelry box, this one slightly melted and covered in soot. He picked it up and placed it in his almost full arms. He exited the room and went into what looked to be something along the lines of a living and dining room combined. Percy noticed a beautiful tapestry of two women on a hunt hung on the wall. He grabbed it and placed the items on the tapestry. He rolled the tapestry up with all the items in it and swung it on his back. He was about to leave for the long hall when he noticed a lumpy black figure. He crept closer, afraid of what he might see. The smoke was thickest around the figure, but as Percy grew closer he could make out two separate shapes._

 _The one closest to the door was the body of an old man. There was a knife sticking from his chest. No doubt Percy's charge had murdered him in an attempt to raid the house. Percy hoped the man was not the 'yaya' the woman was calling for._

 _Percy tripped over something when he made his way towards the man's body. He heard a gasp come from beneath him and almost peed in his toga and armor. He looked down to find an old woman dressed in a dark blue chiton and a lighter blue chlamys._

 _The old woman was reaching out toward the body of the old man. Percy guessed that the man was her husband, and that the woman went back into the house either to take his body out of the fire or to die with him. She had obviously been on her way towards the man when the smoke filled her old lungs and she passed out._

 _Percy quickly swung the makeshift bag onto the floor and stuck his hands underneath the woman's head and knees. He picked her up and tried to grab the items, but his hands were already too full. He laid her down as quickly as he could. He placed the tapestry over her stomach lightly and then picked her back up._

 _Now he just needed to get out of the burning house. He knew that if the old woman had already passed out she had very little time to get out of the smoking house before she suffocated._

 _All he needed to do was figure out how to get out of the house. He couldn't follow the sounds of screams because they were all around him. He felt his foot step on something soft._

 _Pillows. There had been pillows near the place were Percy entered the room. He was close to the exit. He followed the pillow path and felt his shoulder hit something hard. He moved over and there was empty space for him to walk through. He recognized the hall he had gone through. There was more smoke than the last time he came through, but he knew he was getting to the doorway he entered through. He could see the end of the corridor even through the smoke, but it was still relatively long._

 _His back was covered in sweat, more from the fire than anything, but the old lady was starting to get heavy. Her breathing was stronger the farther from the concentrated smoke they got. Percy was never good with medicine but breathing was good. Everyone enjoyed breathing. So he took it as a good sign. He saw an arch and he could make out something that looked like an angel the Christiani painted. He walked towards it and realized it was the Graeci girl and her family._

 _"Yaya?" He held the arms out to the girl to present her with everything he found, hoping she'd convey which thing was the yaya._

 _"Yiayia!" The girl leapt forward and grabbed the face of the old woman._

 _So 'yaya' was a name or a title._

 _"Ah, so who is yaya in relation to you?" He knew she wouldn't be able to answer, so he simply voiced his thoughts._

 _Percy saw the blond man look over the blonde woman's shoulder. The blond man looked but up at Percy and he could see the gratitude shining in his eyes. Perhaps the woman was the mother or grandmother of the two blondes._

 _Percy moved his eyes from the man's face to the woman's. She was looking at him with an intense look, though it didn't seem like a glare._

 _Percy took his eyes off the woman's face when he saw the man moved towards him in his peripheral vision. The woman quickly grabbed the objects off the old woman and the blonde man took her from Percy's arms._

 _Percy knew he couldn't have been in the house for longer than three minutes, but the family still had to run. The woman with the baby was quite pretty, and his charge would never pass up a chance to, ah, get off._

 _Percy made a sweeping 'go' motion and the man and woman with the baby both began to run, but the blonde stayed._

 _Percy felt eyes on him and turned to see the blonde looking at him with that same intense look on her face as before. The amount of power this 14-17-year-old Graeci girl radiated simultaneously amazed and concerned him._

 _The girl stepped forward and shifted the contents in her arms. She looked down at her items and then back at Percy._

 _"Ifcar i stow, ifcar i stow, ifcar i stow," The girl repeated syllables over and over again while staring straight at Percy. He desperately wished to know what she was saying, but everything she spoke sounded like a baby just beginning to speak._

 _The girl seemed to notice his lost expression and growled under her breath. Again, the intense stare returned._

 _The girl stepped even closer to him and stood on her tiptoes. Percy leaned down as if she was going to whisper more of her gibberish in his ear. Instead, a soft pair of lips met his in a chaste but sweet kiss. The girl had probably meant it as a means to say thank you, but Percy still blushed furiously. It's not everyday pretty Graeci girls kissed him._

 _The girl stepped back and grinned at Percy before skipping away._

After the girl ran toward her family Percy was called further inland. He only saw her again when he and Lydus had entered their little room with some of Lydus' minions.

But, anyways, the pretty girl was not his biggest problem. Actually, his biggest problem was how goddamn slow the ship was going. Really, could not a single Venti be looking out for him?

"Aye, Secundus, any way you could move a little faster?" Percy yelled out to the helmsman.

"Aye, you excited to get back to your girl, Praetor? I'm going as fast as I can. I need to get off, too, you know." Secundus chuckled.

Percy gave him a tight-lipped smile. _No,_ he thought, _no, my wife is the last person I want to see and I most definitely am not in a rush to get back to her. There's no telling the trouble she must be causing back at the estate. My mother and son, however, need me back._

"Ah, Praetor, I'm so glad I found you," Lydus' booming voice sounded from behind him.

Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes and turned around.

"What is it you need, Lydus?" Percy asked.

"I think we ought to start the quaestiones a little earlier. We've got a lot of prisoners to go through." Lydus told him.

Percy raised an eyebrow, "If there are so many prisoners then why don't we move some of them to another room?"

"Well, Praetor, there's not _that_ many prisoners."

Percy sighed. He knew Lydus just wanted to give the prisoners a hard time. Plus, with the prisoners in one room, there were more rooms for the crew.

"Are you starting them now?" Percy asked.

Lydus nodded, "When I've round everyone up. Head down to the conference room. Hossus and Tertius should already be down there. I just have to find that old man."

Percy nodded and began to descend the wooden stairs.

Percy pushed the door open and grabbed a chair from the wall. He yawned as he dragged it over to where the other two men were sitting. He decided to take a nap after this little endeavor. Or during, depending on how interesting these Graeci were.

"Alright, men! Let's get on with it!" Lydus yelled. He was followed by Decius and two foot soldiers who were dragging a young man.

"Tell us, boy, what did you do back in your home?" Lydus first asked the question to the boy in Greaci and then translated it to Latina for the rest of the men.

The boy answered. Lydus grunted, "Said he was a shepherd's son. Looks too strong to have been a mere sheepherder, to me. I'll ask him why he's strong."

Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he feigned interest in the conversation.

"Hm," Lydus hummed, "He said he and most of the other young men and boys helped unload cargo as a source of extra income. I bet most of the males we get will be strong. Should we send them to the army or sell them, Praetor?"

Percy's head shot up at the mention of his title, "Sell them. They will not be loyal to Roma in the army. We can't be bothered with an uprising. Plus, strong young men will sell for more."

Lydus nodded, "Take him back, boys."

The quaestiones continued like that. Some weather-beaten Graeci would come in, dragged by two foot soldiers, and answer the same standard questions. Most of the prisoners were either woman or young men. Old men and children were dead weight. Still, Percy generally tried not to slaughter children by the hundreds, so there were more kids than there would be had another Praetor overseen the attack.

Percy fell in and out of consciousness. He woke up once during an interview with a frog hunter, which was entertaining, but Lydus deemed it a stupid job and sent the man away.

Percy woke up again when his blonde Graeci was brought in.

"Ha," laughed Lydus, "I know where she will go. The brothel owners will pay a high price for such a pretty girl. Look, she's blonde, she was born to please men. Perhaps I'll use her for my own pleasure."

Again, Percy almost rolled his eyes.

"Ah, but, I see you giving her the eye, Praetor. Perhaps you'd like to take her for yourself, eh?"

"Aye, he saw her on land and he'd been after her since," Hossus spoke.

Percy shook his head, "You all have foul minds. Ask her if she has any skills."

Lydus nodded and turned back to the girl and told her something in gibberish.

She responded, her back straight and head held high. For a woman with puke, urine, blood, and shit stains on her chiton, she looked pretty regal.

"She said she cooked for her family, they ran a fish shop, and she was trained by her grandmother in the arts. Sounds like the perfect house slave. Gorgeous, stupid, a cook, the quintessential woman."

Percy said nothing but decided that it was best if he made sure Lydus and the rest of the crew stayed away from the girl. He felt a headache coming on at the price he'd have to pay for such a girl, and if he wanted to keep her and her pretty sister with the baby and their old mother together he'd have to pay a large sum.

Lydus asked her something in Graeci, "I asked what her name was. She said it was Antiochis. Let's give her something easier to say, like Annabella. That's pretty. Pretty name for a pretty girl,"

Lydus nodded, pleased with his naming skills, and told the soldiers to take her back. Before they could take her she shouted something in her language and twisted in the soldiers' grasps. Every man in the room seemed surprised at her outburst.

"Yes?" Lydus asked in Latin and raised an eyebrow. The girl took it as a sign and launched into rapid-fire Graeci.

Lydus listened for a minute and then motioned for the soldiers to take her back. The girl's shouts grew louder as she was pulled away. She was hitting and kicking at the soldiers as they took her out of the room, though it probably only hurt her hands and feet as the soldiers were dressed in armor.

"What did she say?" Percy asked Lydus.

He shook his head, "Said something about her sister being sick. Something about a baby, too. Maybe we can sell the sister for a higher price if she is pregnant."

Percy sat in thought as the rest of the Graeci were brought in. He wondered if the blonde Graeci herself was pregnant, or if her sister was pregnant. Perhaps no one was pregnant and her sister was just sick. Percy had a feeling she would go looking for the ship's doctor eventually.

"Aye, do what you please," Lydus told the men as he stood up from the chair he had been slouching in.

"Who is on patrol tonight?" Percy asked as he stood up.

Lydus gave him a funny look, "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

Percy closed his eyes and worked really hard not to put his head in his hands.

"Alright," Percy left the room.

He grabbed a loaf of bread from the kitchen and ripped a piece off. It was getting hard. Gods, he really wanted to get home to his mother and son and food. Really, he was a Praetor of Roma, not some plebeian. There was no reason for him to live off bread and oranges.

He ate his bread on his way to his room. He was still eating it when he took his dark blue paludamentum off. He unlaced his caligae and signed as the tight shoe slipped off his foot. Somehow his shoemaker always managed to make his shoes just a titch too small for his toes to fit. He rubbed his sore feet and climbed under the blanket. He laid down and smiled at the thought of a good rest.

Good rest, my ass, Percy thought. He threw the covers off and went the little fire next to his bed, a gift from his brother. Percy lit the fire and reached for the bread he had left. His hand hit the nightstand. He looked over to find the nightstand void of any food.

Percy signed. Now he had to go back out to the kitchen, in the dark, and get a whole nother loaf. He grabbed his blue paludamentum from the floor and threw it over his shoulders, not bothering to fasten it as it was supposed to be.

He grabbed a candle from his drawer and used the fire from his bedside offering pit to light it. He crept out of the room as quietly as possible.

Over his own footsteps, Percy could hear pitter-patters of other feet. He grinned softly, knowing it was probably one of the Graeci children looking for food. He walked towards the footsteps. They stopped for a minute. Percy walked slower, setting his feet down even quieter. The pitter-patter started up again.

Percy rounded the corner to see the shape of a woman, albeit a short one, but most definitely a woman. Surprised, Percy lifted the candle to see the woman's face. She had her back turned to him, but he could see sandy blonde hair that reached the end of the woman's waist and brushed against her butt.

Percy recognized the girl as his blonde Graeci. He remembered that she had a name other than "his blonde Graeci," but he could only vaguely remember the name Lydus gave her. What was it, Annalise? Annalee? Annamarie? It was Anna-something. Anna...Annabe-something. Annabeth was the first name that popped into his head, so he went with that.

"Annabeth?" He whispered quietly. The girl seemed to recognize his voice because she turned around, slowly.

Her eyes widened when she saw him and she took a few quick steps toward him and then stopped, as if she was debating whether she should get closer to him. She started walking toward him again, this time at a slower pace.

"Do you need something, Annabeth?" Percy bent down just a little to be closer to her.

She spout off in her rapid Graeci. Percy stood in front of her with a blank look on his face. Annabeth looked up at him with hope in her eyes. When she saw his blank face she looked down, frustrated. She looked around the empty hallway and then at her hands.

Suddenly she clasped her hands to her chest and spun in circles. Her eyes were closed and her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth.

Percy surged forward to catch her as she stood on one foot and continued to spin in circles. When she felt his hands on her she stopped spinning. She gave him a funny look and took his hands off her, but he could see a blush on her cheeks. Or maybe it was the light of the fire.

Again, Annabeth gave him a hopeful look. Percy could only shake his head. Her shoulders dropped. Percy looked at her longer. Her head popped back up and she met his eyes, making sure he was looking at her.

She clenched her hands into fists right underneath her jaw. Her shoulders rose up as her fists unfolded under her chin. She pushed her arms out in front of her.

Percy interpreted it as a "throwing up" motion.

"You… you are sick?" Percy asked her. She gave him a blank stare.

She repeated the motion and then cradled her arms to her stomach and rocked them side to side like she was holding a baby.

"Your baby is sick?" Again, she gave him no response.

Instead, she grabbed a piece if her hair, pointed at it, and then pointed to a brown stain on her chiton. Percy cringed at the thought of what the stain might be from.

"Sick, baby… poop hair?" Annabeth repeated her motions again. This time she opened her eyes wider with her fingers. Percy thought she looked kinda funny.

"Sick, baby, hair, brown, big eyes…"

Again, she repeated her series of motions, this time pushing her breasts together.

"Sick, baby, hair, brown, big eyes, boobs," Percy looked at her with wide eyes.

"Sick, baby, hair, brown, big eyes, boobs," He repeated.

Someone was sick. It probably wasn't her because she was out roaming the halls of an enemy warship. A baby was in the mix. The "hair, brown" sequence probably meant brown hair. She was talking about someone with big eyes, or at least bigger eyes than her. And boobs. Maybe the baby was having trouble feeding? But even then, Percy had thought the baby was her sister's, not hers. The baby and her sister had the same brown hair and….oh. Oh.

"Said something about her sister being sick. Something about a baby, too. Maybe we can sell the sister for a higher price if she is pregnant."

"Your sister is sick! You need a doctor!" Percy whisper-yelled at her, excited he might have figured it out.

She looked back at him, scandalized. Oh. Yeah. She doesn't understand him. Probably being happy did not give the right context clues.

Percy shook his head and grabbed her hand. She gave a tiny gasp at the touch and he loosened his already gentle hold on her.

"Come, come on, I think I know what you are asking for," He kept his voice soft since he knew the words themselves couldn't calm her down.

Her eyes were wide but she took a step forward. Percy took it as a sign and continued walking, slowing down every now and then when he felt her falling back a little. They finally reached the end of the end of the hall.

Percy opened the door to a large rectangular room lined with beds.

"Medicus," He called out. A tall, tanned, blue-eyed man with long blond curls stepped out from behind a curtain.

"Praetor," The blond responded. He noticed the girl standing next to Percy and tilted his head towards her, "Who is your lady-friend?"

"This is Annabeth. She's one of the Graeci prisoners," Percy answered.

The doctor's eyes widened a fraction, "With all due respect, Praetor, but why have you brought me one of the prisoners? Lydus has told me I need not worry about their health."

Percy shook his head, "Lydus is a jackass. I'm praetor, which means I hold the highest seat of power on this ship. I think Annabeth's sister is sick. If you help Annabeth with whatever it is she needs I will take you as my personal physician. The rank of a physician of a Praetor pays much better than that of a clinicus."

The man raised a blond eyebrow, "You seem very willing to help this Graeci. Is there something going on that I should know about, Praetor?"

Percy rubbed a hand over his face, "We've been on this gods-forsaken ship for four days and everyone thinks I'm sleeping with this Graeci. You, Will, should know that I wouldn't cheat on my wife, and that if I did cheat on Rachel my mistress would not be covered in the bodily fluids and excretions of her family members."

Will smiled knowingly and his eyes scanned over to Annabeth. He quietly mumbled something under his breath that Percy couldn't catch.

Annabeth giggled. Will smiled wider and said something similar to what he had mumbled under his breath, except this time it was clear and loud, like his normal voice.

Annabeth replied to whatever it was Will said.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up, everybody hold up, you know Graeci? Since when? How? Why?" Percy fired off questions to Will.

"I studied the findings of Hippocrates in Kos for a few years. Hush, Annabeth and I are speaking."

They continued to converse with each other. Eventually, Will waved his hand at Annabeth and she took off down the hallway. Percy was about to turn to grab her when Will stopped him.

"You were right," he said, "it is her sister who's sick. Well, sister-in-law, though she used the titles interchangeably. I'm surprised you gleaned all that from her little game of charades, though I'm sure she was as thorough as possible. She's a very bright young woman. She knew almost everything I would have recommended. Unfortunately, the fact that she's done so much for her sister leads me to believe there's not much I can do for her."

"You have to," Percy stepped forward, "Annabeth's sister has a child, a baby. The father, Annabeth's brother, like, biological brother, I think, he was killed back in Corinth. You can't let this baby lose its father and mother."

Will shook his head sadly, "I didn't realize the woman had a child. Still, that doesn't change that the woman seems very sick. I fear she won't make it to Roma."

Percy rubbed his hand over his face again.

Will gave him a sympathetic look, "Come, sit. Is there anything I could help you with?"

Percy shook his head but sat down.

"Well then," Will stated, "tell me what it is that's worrying you."

Percy snorted and asked, "What are you, a mentis?"

"No, just a good listener."

Percy shook his head, "My mother is sick and frail, my wife's favorite pastime is messing around with other men, I barely see my son, it's a complete replay of my relationship with my own father, I find no joy in leading an army to pillage an innocent city, I want to be a magistrate of the law, a senator is possible, but no one takes me seriously. Just this morning one of the foot soldiers asked me to clean the kitchen. And now we're sitting here waiting on a woman to bring her dying sister here and I'll feel like a grade-A asshole because I'm complaining of how my luxurious life is not luxurious enough."

It was Will's turn to shake his head, "I've never met a man as kind as you are, Percy. Her, listen to this. When I was a child and I was down I'd go into my father's clinic to see all the sick and dying people and remind myself that it could be worse. This never made me feel any better, but I thought I was being selfish pitying myself when there were people dying. One day my mother caught me and asked what I was doing. I explained to her what I did. And then she said, 'People are starving. There are children dying of hunger in the slums of Roma. Do you think about those children when you go to Avia looking for a snack?' Of course, I said no, thinking she was trying to make me feel worse. And then she said, 'Of course not, because thinking of other starving kids won't feed you and satisfy your appetite. Just because someone else has a bigger problem than you doesn't mean your problems are invalid.'

"I was seven or eight at the time, most definitely not trained in the study of philosophy, so I didn't fully understand the weight of her words, but throughout my career as a doctor those words have reminded me to take care of both my patients and myself." Will finished his speech.

Percy looked up at his friend, "That's a nice thought, but it doesn't fix my problems nor the Graeci's."

Will rolled his eyes, "You were such a cheerful young boy. Now you're just a pessimistic young man. Pull yourself together, your Graeci is coming back."

"She's not mine," Percy mumbled under his breath.

"She should be. Did you not notice the way she was holding on to you. I'm sure she feels some sort of gratitude toward you for helping her and her sister. Perhaps even loyalty. That doesn't seem to be something you receive from your wife. She's a good woman, strong, smart, motherly. She could take care of you. Better care than you give yourself, though from our recent conversation that doesn't seem all that hard."

Annabeth entered the room with the dark-haired woman following her. Both the women looked tired, though the brunette more so. Percy noticed the baby tucked in her arms.

Will said something to them and they moved toward a bed. The brunette passed the bundle of blankets to Annabeth and laid down on the bed.

"Let's not talk about this while they're here, please," Percy said, his eyes still on the girls.

Will shrugged, "Why? We are speaking Latina. They do not understand us."

"Go help your patient," Percy commanded.

"So bossy," Will muttered under his breath.

Annabeth said something to Will as he walked over. Will motioned for Percy to come over to him.

"This is Kallisto," Will said.

"Ave, Kallisto. I am Perseus, Praetor of Roma. You can call me Percy."

Will translated for Kallisto.

Annabeth looked at him. He looked back at her.

"Percy." She said. Percy liked the way she said his name. She pronounced it like 'pear-sea." He thought it was funny. He liked her voice in general. It obviously held a very thick accent, and it was soft, almost a little rough.

Percy grinned back at her.

"Annabeth," He said back to her. She grinned, too.

"Kallisto," she pointed to the woman on the bed.

"I know, Will told me."

Annabeth looked back at him with a blank look She shook her head and held up the bundle of blankets, moving them aside so Percy could see the sweet face of a baby girl.

"Hecuba." She pronounced it like 'He-ay-kub-ah"

"Infans?" Percy looked back at her.

Annabeth shook her head. "He-ay-kub-ah" she repeated.

"Eh..ka..ba," Percy repeated.

"Percy, she'd telling you the baby's name, not the Graeci word for baby," Will called out.

"We-hoi," Annabeth pointed at Will.

Percy shook his head, "Will."

Annabeth shook her head again, "We-hoi."

"Doctor?" Percy guessed.

Will looked up from Kallisto again, "No, Percy, she's telling you my name. That's my name in Graeci."

He said something to Annabeth in Graeci. Percy understood Will say his own name at the end.

Annabeth's eyes widened and she nodded.

"Will," she pointed to him again.

"Yes, Will," Percy said.

"Pear-sea," She pointed to him.

Percy nodded, "Yes, Percy."

Annabeth looked at him very warily and pointed to herself, "Ah-nuh-beth."

Percy smiled and nodded. "Anna-beth," he pointed to her.

"Ah-nuh-beth," she repeated.

Percy nodded. If she wanted to split her new name into four syllables instead of three she could. Percy was surprised she even picked up the name.

"Annie-ock-hiss," Kallisto called from the bed.

Annabeth turned to look at her.

Kallisto said something to her in their language.

Annabeth stepped toward her sister with the baby in her arms. She sat on the bed, her hips right next to Kallisto's.

Annabeth said something to Will in Graeci. Will rubbed a hand over his face.

"Percy, give me that plant over there with the yellow flower on top that looks like string," Will commanded. Percy held something that matched the description Will gave.

Will nodded, "Yes, give me two or three of those stems."

Percy obeyed.

Annabeth pointed to the flowers in Percy's hands, "Ella-comp-ann."

Percy looked down at them and frowned.

"Plant," He said.

Annabeth smiled and shook her head. Will laughed.

"Percy," Will said, "Elecampane is the name of the plant. It helps with digestive problems."

"Oh," Percy said. He looked back at Annabeth. She was smiling at him. Percy thought she had the prettiest smile ever.

"Okay, now hand me that other yellow flower that looks like an actual flower," Will demanded.

Percy trekked back over to where the medicinal herbs were and picked out a honeysuckle.

He gave it to Will.

"No, Percy, wrong yellow flower. I need the Cynede."

Percy looked back at Annabeth to see if she might give any hints to what Will wanted.

She simply stood up, the baby still in her arms, and walked over to where the medicinal herbs. Kallisto cried out for her sister. Annabeth turned around and looked between the two men in the room as she spoke soft words to her sister.

She picked up another flower, this one with long skinny petals sticking out at a radial symmetry pattern from the center, and handed that to Will.

"Avgo?" She asked hopefully as she handed the flowers to him. Will said something to her that made her shoulders droop and her head drop.

Will walked over to where he kept his tools and picked out a pestle and mortar. He began to grind up the flowers. When it was as non-solid as it could be he poured a cup of water from the barrel next to him.

He walked back over to the group of people next to the bed. He placed the mortar at Kallisto's lips and told her something. She opened her mouth and drank the grass-water.

"Ugh," she said when she was done.

Annabeth giggled a little.

Percy thought it sounded like Apollo playing a tune from his lyre. In reality, it was scratchy and soft, much like her voice, only with a little less rhythm and a little more melody.

Will said something to Kallisto and she closed her eyes. Will grabbed the upper part of Annabeth's arm and lead her away from Kallisto's bed. He talked quietly to her in Graeci.

Percy heard her emit a soft wail and look back at Kallisto. Tears were just beginning to fall from her pretty grey eyes.

Will put his hand back on her arm and turned her back to face him.

After a few seconds of them conversing, and then a few minutes of silence, Annabeth waved Percy over. He obeyed, confused.

She said something to him in rapid-fire Graeci. Percy looked at Will to translate but he just shrugged.

"Graeci women tend to talk faster than their male counterparts," He said, "I don't know what exactly she said, but it was a warning to be careful. She threatened you somewhere in there, too. It was pretty gruesome, I'd rather not tell you."

Percy was confused until he looked down at Annabeth. She was holding the baby out to him. He realized she must have been telling him to take the baby and be careful with it.

Percy scrunched his face back to make multiple chins and thrust his arms out, waiting for Annabeth to but the baby in his hands.

When he felt a weight in his arms he looked down the see the baby scrunch it's face up and yawn.

"Ypostiríxte to kefáli tis, ilíthio!"

"Uh," Percy responded.

"She's telling you to support her head. She also called you stupid."

Percy quickly placed a large hand under the baby's head.

"Hi," he whispered, "Hi sweet baby. I'm Percy. You're a very pretty baby, you know? Most babies are ugly, but you're a pretty baby. What did your auntie say your name was? Ay-kav-uh?"

"He-ay-kub-ah," Annabeth sounded the baby's name out. She was looking at him with a funny look on her face, like she thought it was a cute scene but also like she thought Percy might be a monkey with less hair.

"Na eíste kaloí, Hecuba," Annabeth said. Percy concluded that she was talking to the baby, not him. She turned back to Will.

"He-ay-kub-ah. That's your name. It's a pretty name. A pretty name for a pretty girl. Do you understand me? Your auntie doesn't understand me, but she tries. I like your auntie. She's very persevere-ic. That's probably a word. What's your auntie doing now?"

Percy peeked over Annabeth's shoulder to see her kneading her breasts. Percy looked over at Will, a little offended that he was trying to make a move on his Graeci. Also, he was very sure Will was gay. But when he looked at WIll he was doing the same thing, only with considerably less breast tissue.

"Will, what the fuck are you doing?"

Annabeth jumped back, her hands still on her boobs. She stared at Percy for a while and then looked down and returned to probing her breasts.

"Will, what the heck is going one?" Percy asked.

Will signed, "Percy, listen, I'm teaching her how to manually induce lactation in case Kallisto doesn't make it, which is very likely, and someone needs to feed Hecuba, the baby. Breastfeeding is hard on women in a way you and I will never fully understand. It's even harder for a young adoptive mother like Annabeth who's never had a child or breastfed before. Eventually, her body will understand that she's caring for a child and will produce its own milk, but that takes weeks, sometimes even months, especially for new moms. Try not to stress her out."

"So...you're not making a move on the Graeci prisoner?"

Will gave him an amused smile, "No, I'm not trying to seduce your lady."

"Oh, okay, I just thought- wait, she's not my lady, don't say that. I have a wife. Anyways, why are you touching your man-boobs with her?"

"I don't have man-boobs."

"You have man-boobs."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. Look, I don't mean it in a bad way, you have, like, good man boobs. Like, boobs but strong. Strong-boobs."

Will gave him a weird look, "If you must know, manually inducing lactation requires a very specific pattern. You can't cup the breast, push on the breast, or pull on the breast. You have to mimic the mouth of a child sucking. Eventually, Annabeth will move onto dry feeding. I may even have her start letting Hecuba get used to the feel of her breasts today, since we're so pressed for time. Six-months could be a good time to start the baby on other foods, but even then I've seen the best results come from mothers who breastfeed their kids until maybe four or five years of a age. I wouldn't recommend a woman stop breastfeeding her child until at least their second year. Uts beneficial to both the mother and the child. I'm afraid halting feeding this soon could cause cognitive damage."

"I think you gave me cognitive damage with all that information."

"Oh my god, Percy, we just need you to sit there, hold the kid, and be compliant. Now you're getting a medical lesson. Here, why don't you hand the baby over to Annabeth."

Will said something to Annabeth in Graeci. Annabeth's eyes went wide and she slowly nodded her head. She unclasped one of her fibula and one side of her chiton fell down.

Percy's eyes widened and he looked back at Will.

Will rolled his eyes, "First of all, please don't tell me you've never seen the breast before."

"I have. In my room. With the breasts belonging to my wife. The woman I married. And we were alone. Just the two of us."

"You have to understand, the Graeci do not think the same way we do. The granddaughter of a poor fish merchant, she doesn't have nearly the same etiquette we do. That doesn't mean she's rude, it just means she had different ideas on certain topics. Like public nudity. Breasts feed children. She's currently trying to get her breasts to feed her niece. Which, by the way, you should give to her. Her boob is probably getting cold." Will said.

Percy turned around to see Annabeth standing in front of him with her arms held out.

Percy held up the baby and raised his eyebrows. 'This?' he mouthed. Annabeth nodded and Will facepalmed.

Will started speaking to Annabeth in her language, guiding her along. Every now and then Annabeth would make a small sound of discomfort, but the baby seemed perfectly happy. Percy couldn't tell if there was any milk coming out, but the baby was most definitely sucking.

Hecuba's big grey eyes looked up at Percy through long dark lashes.

Percy looked up in wonder at Annabeth. Rachel had never actually breastfed their son, leaving that duty to the wet nurses and nannies. Percy had never seen a woman nursing a child she was related to.

Annabeth was steadily watching the baby suckle. She began to walk over to a bed, Will talking to her softly in Graeci along the way. Percy quickly dove to arrange the pillows and blankets in a way that would be comfortable for Annabeth.

She sat down silently on the bed, one leg tucked underneath her butt.

"You good?" Percy asked her softly.

Annabeth finally looked up at him. She cocked her head to the side in confusion but smiled sweetly at him. He took that to mean she was fine. She laid down against the pillows, though her backed seemed to recline a little too far for her to be completely comfortable.

"I'll go get you more pillows," Percy said. He ran around the infirmary collecting any and every pillow he could find.

He heard her soft laugh from the other side of the room. He looked over at her and the baby. She was sitting up again, leaning forward, her long blonde curls falling against her bare chest and collarbone.

She looked so peaceful in her white chiton, her blonde hair turning almost a white-gold color in the moonlight. She looked back down at the baby.

Percy walked over to the bed and started putting pillows behind her back. When she decided there was enough she leaned back, sitting comfortable upright. Percy then started putting pillows all around her and the baby.

"Arketá," She said quietly.

Percy looked up. Annabeth simply nodded. Percy decided she had said "stop" or "enough."

Will said something to her and she nodded. Will walked back over to Kallisto's bed and checked her body, looking into her nose (ew?) and feeling around her neck.

Percy went over to the other side of the bed and placed a hand near Annabeth's hips, raising his eyebrows.

She nodded and he sat down. She tilted her body and the baby to be closer the Percy. Hecuba looked at him with her big grey eyes again. One of her tiny hands reached up and tugged on his long black hair. He and Annabeth both laughed softly.

Percy reached out to touch Hecuba's face, careful not to touch Annabeth's breast. Still, the side of his thumb brushed against the skin surrounding the baby's mouth. Annabeth sucked in a breath but gave no other indication that she had felt it, her eyes still looking into Hecuba's.

Percy was trapped, his hair still in Hecuba's vice grip and his hand resting on Hecuba's cheek and the skin of Annabeth's breast. They were both soft, and Percy felt the feeling of sleep begin to wash over him. His eyes started to droop, but he forced his head to stay off Annabeth's shoulder.

Annabeth moved her arms so only one was supporting Hecuba and the other was reaching around to untangle the baby's hand from Percy's hair. Hecuba let go and rested the hand on Annabeth's boob.

Percy felt a soft hand on the back of his head, guiding him toward Annabeth's shoulder. The hand had long nails that rubbed and scratched the back of Percy's head the way his mother had done when he wouldn't sleep as a child.

"Hoson zês, phainou,

mêden holôs su lupou;

pros oligon esti to zên,

to telos ho chronos apaitei."

Annabeth's soft voice lulled him to sleep on her shoulder.

So, cute or boring? I thought the beginning was a little boring, but the end was cute. I love reading your reviews, they make me so happy. I literally check my email box like 10 times a day to see if I have any reviews. So, feel free to tell me what you think. Love you, mean it, make good choices.

A dodge "the perfect fanfic doesn't exi- well im hella glad i joined this fandom"- This is so cute oh my gosh thank you

Stormwreckin "I'm really enjoying this story so far. I feel it has a lot of promise though I'm not sure where in the timeline we are. Is this this the infamous "destruction" of Corinth that took place in 146 BC and basically marked the ensuing domination of Rome in the Peloponnese? I'll admit my Roman history isn't as refined as it used to be but it seems like that is what you are going for here. I like how you described the horrors of war without getting too graphic by focusing on Annabeths POV. I imagine if we saw it through the eyes of Kallisto we probably would have seen a lot more bloodshed and rape described in detail. I'm curious as to how things are going to play out moving forward for Annabeth. With she and her family eventually be separated as seems likely right now? Will Percy show mercy and bring them all together? So many questions... I really look forward to reading what happens next. Keep up that high enthusiasm and good luck on your exams! Thanks for taking the time to write this for us! Keep up the great work!- Yes, this is the fall of Corinth. The Greeks called it Korinthos, Corinth was the Roman spelling and pronunciation of the city. If you remembered that Corinth fell in 146 BC then you probably already know this, but basically ancient writers blame the Greeks themselves for the city's demise, because apparently they were "rebelling" against the Romans. Also, at this time Rome was a republic, their government will be important later in the story, especially when Percy is involved. As a reminder the Roman Republic had six praetors at the time, too, not two, like Camp Jupiter does. They usually oversaw the armies, but they could also deal with matters of the republic and Senate.

Guest "Okay wow. Love that you put the effort to read through history, and include them in the story. Also, the language barrier was a good touch too since obviously, greek and roman can't just simply communicate with each other easily, unlike other stories where characters just magically know how to speak the other language. This is interesting, and I love to see where this story goes. This is really great. Kudos! :)"- Thank you so much! Usually, people make Percy a Greek refugee of some sort or a man with Greek background, but that didn't really fit with what I wanted, so there's gonna be a lot of charades in this story. Also, the last Ancient World History course I took was three years ago in 6th grade so the majority of the historical background comes from my own reading and the internet, which, isn't always true. Plus, because it was such a huge empire the history of the Roman Empire is conflicting and inconsistent, so it can get confusing.

Guest "Introduce characters earlier"- Thank you so much for the advice, I appreciate it, really, but I don't feel like that fits with the story and how I want it to go. I'm planning on introducing characters at different times, so maybe this isn't the story you want to read.


	4. Chapter 4- Faith is Not For the Blind

**Hi, sorry for the wait, here's a rundown of translations:**

 **Efcaristo (Greek)-** Thank you

 **Vale (Latin)-** Hello/ greetings/ at ease

 **Geia sou, paidi (Greek)-** Hello, child

 **Poiós eísai (Greek)-** Who are you?

 **Ego eimai (Greek)-** I am

 **Elliniká (Greek)-** the Greek word for the Greek language

 **Pollice verso (Latin)-** turned thumbs (means thumbs up or thumbs down, no one is really sure)

 **Parakaló (Greek)-** You're welcome

 **Boró na do to moró? (Greek)-** Can I see the baby?

 **Eínai aftó to moró sas epísis? (Greek)-** Is this your baby as well?

 **Óchi, aftó den eínai to moró tou. Aftí eínai i anipsiá mou (Greek)-** No, this is not his baby. This is my niece.

 **Tóte se poion aníkei to moró? (Greek)-** Then who does the baby belong to?

 **I aderfí mou (Greek)-** My sister

 **O megálos eípe óti ítan polý árrostos (Greek)-** The big man said that she is very sick

 **Nai, eínai árrostos, allá tha veltiotheí (Greek)-** Yes, she is sick, but she will improve

 **Aftó eínai kaló. O ánthropos tis iliofáneias tha tin voithísei? (Greek)-** Oh, that is good. The sunshine man will help her get better?"

 **Akoúsate ti sas kálese? Sas kálese ton 'ánthropo tis iliofáneias (Greek)-** Did you hear what he called you? He called you the 'sunshine man'

Will had to wake him up, which was slightly embarrassing since he was a Praetor of Roma and he shouldn't have to be awoken by a Medicus, but he was grateful nonetheless. He had led Kallisto and Annabeth back to the slave room. He almost envied them for being able to sleep during the day, but his thoughts were shut down the minute he opened the door for them. The room reeked of urine, vomit, and sweat. Everyone was huddled together, though not voluntarily. There were as many as 250 slaves crammed into one room.

Will had woken everyone up just before dawn, so most of the slaves were still asleep. Still, the old woman Annabeth and Kallisto were with was awake and alert.

Percy grabbed Annabeth's arm on her way in. She looked up at him.

"Yaya?" He asked, pointing to the old woman.

"Yiayia," She nodded.

"Ne-mare-tea," She pointed to the same woman.

Percy was confused, one of the words was probably the woman's title, and the other was probably her name, but he didn't know which one.

"Nee-mare-tee," he repeated. She nodded. She took a step forward and then stopped herself, turning back around to face him with a grin on her face.

"Efcharistó," She reached on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Percy grinned back at her, his eyes soft.

"Vale, Annabeth," He said as she shut the door.

"Pear-cy," She answered and turned back around to her family.

Percy began walking down the hall to his own room. He opened his door to see the sunrise over the Ionian Sea. He looked at his bed and the table next to it that held the flickering remains of his sacrificial fire he had lit at the beginning of the night. He smiled when he realized he didn't have to make an offering to sleep soundly in the infirmary. He shook his head, the smile still on his face, and began to change his robes. There was no time to sleep, yet he had to look like he had slept.

He kept his white toga one but changed his paludamentum to an orangey-red colored one. His dark hair kept falling into his eyes, so he swept it up into a low ponytail. He grabbed his rings from the table and slid them onto his fingers.

He gently blew the remains of his sacrificial fire out and left the room.

0~0~0~0~0

Percy's day was slow, which stressed him out even more. Since he was on a ship in the middle of the Ionian there was no way of Roma communicating with him. There were probably a plethora of things he should be doing but had no idea they needed to be done because he was on the ship.

Percy decided his night would be considerably more productive.

Before they had left, Will told Annabeth and Kallisto to return again for another dosage of herbs and to check up on Annabeth and baby Hecuba, so Percy knew they would be back at the infirmary. He had told Will that he would accompany the girls.

He was still going to the infirmary, certainly, but first, he wanted to stop by the slave room.

When he got there he cracked the door open, hoping not to wake the prisoners. He held a papyrus candle in his hand to give him light. He waved his hand that was holding the candle around the room until he spotted the boy with the nasty cut to the foot.

"Boy," Percy whispered as he shook the kid's foot.

"Boy, wake up. Wake up, boy."

The kid woke up grumbling about something. The grumbling made it hard for Percy to comprehend what he was saying, though he probably wouldn't have understood it anyways since it was most likely in Graeci.

The boy yawned and smacked his lips. His eyes grew wide as he looked up at Percy. The boy reached out to shake awake the woman next to him, but Percy grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Come with me, boy," He said, his hand still wrapped around the boy's wrist. He started to drag the boy up and moved toward the door, but when the boy stood up he planted his feet firmly on the floor. Well, somewhat firmly, since it looked like he was in a lot of pain with his injured foot.

Percy pulled at the boy slightly but he sat down. Percy signed, wishing he could speak the Graeci language. He rubbed his free hand over his face and then used that same hand to point to the boy's foot.

The boy looked down at his foot and then back at Percy's face and slowly stood back up. Percy gently pulled on the boy's hand again. The boy followed, stepping over the bodies of Corinthians. When he came to the broad shoulders of a strong young man he jumped, coming down hard on his foot. Percy quickly shushed him and picked him up, setting him up on his shoulder.

"We're gonna go see the Medicus. His name is Will. He's a very nice man, all sunshine and rainbows. He smells like flowers, too. There's going to be some women in their, too. And a baby. The baby's name is Hecuba. The women are Kallisto and, uh, I call her Annabeth, but I guess you would call her, umm, Annie..oak..hiss. I think. I'm not sure. Anyways, she's the one with blonde hair that looks like a Christani angel. Kallisto will be on the bed. She's sick, very sick." Percy knew the boy couldn't understand him, but he hoped the tone of his voice would soothe him.

"Okay, boy, here we are. Let's set you down, now," Percy clamored to the floor and set the boy down. Percy slowly opened the door, allowing the boy to go in first. He timidly entered, flinching a little when Will looked up and spoke.

"Percy, I was wondering where- Oh, hello, who are you?" Will said. The boy just stared in response.

"Geia sou, paidi," Annabeth's voice came from farther inside the room, "Poiós eísai?"

The boy, who had been hiding behind Percy's leg stepped out at the sound of Annabeth's voice/ He mumbled something quietly.

"Harpalos," Annabeth said, pointing at the boy.

Will said something to the boy in Graeci. Despite the comfort of hearing his native tongue, the boy still seemed to be more comfortable around Annabeth.

"Ego emai…." Annabeth trailed off, looking up at Percy and then back at her sister, "Ego emai Ann."

"Ann?" The boy asked. Annabeth nodded. Harpalos turned back to Percy and pointed to Annabeth.

"Annabeth?" He asked Percy. Percy's eyebrows shot up. He didn't realize that the kid had picked the names out from all his murmurings spoken on the way down the hall.

Percy nodded, "Annabeth."

Annabeth walked over to Percy. He noticed that Hecuba wasn't in her arms. Annabeth put a hand on his chest and said something to Harpalos.

"-Pear-cy," He caught his name at the end of Annabeth's sentence. She said more things in Graeci to the boy. Will was smiling at Percy while Annabeth spoke. He made a mental note to ask him what Annabeth was saying.

"Praetor, why did you bring this boy here?" Will spoke once Annabeth was done talking to the boy.

"Look at his foot, Will. He's been lying in the slave room for five days now with that open wound. Can you help him?"

Will looked back at the boy and then back at his foot. He grimaced at the wound but nodded in response to Percy's request.

"Yes," he said, "I think I may be able to do something about it, but it looks bad. I can't promise that it will heal fine."

"Just do what you can, please."

Will nodded.

Annabeth said something to him. By the inflection in her voice, Percy assumed it was a question. Will responded to her, and Annabeth looked down at the boy's foot. Annabeth asked the boy something and Graeci, to which he responded in a quiet voice. Something flashed across Annabeth's eyes at Harpalos' respond. It looked suspiciously like the emotion Percy saw in the eyes of his charge right before a battle. The look was quickly replaced by a much softer emotion. Annabeth said something to the boy. He nodded and walked over to one of the beds and sat down.

Annabeth walked over to the herb table and took two slivers of bark off a stick. She used a small knife that was on the table to cut the bark from the stick. She then took a small bowl from the dish cabinet and dunked it in one of the barrels that held clean-ish water. She set the bowl down on the table next to the two pieces of peeled bark and walked over to the makeshift furnace in the room. She took her knife and cut a groove into a plank next to the furnace. She took another stick and rubbed it up and down the groove. When there were enough sparks to set fire to the stick she tossed it into the furnace. She left the furnace and walked back over to the table. SHe placed the two slivers of bark in the water and walked back over to the furnace, setting the bowl over the top of the fire.

Percy wondered why Annabeth was the one making herbs but then realized that Will was over with Kallisto, looking over her body and quietly asking her questions.

Percy walked over to where Annabeth was using a pestle and mortar to ground up some green leaves.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Percy," she responded. He waited for her to say more but she just continued to mash up the leaves. Green juice was starting to pool at the bottom of the mortar.

"Percy," She said again. She turned around to look at him, a smile on her face.

"You drool when you sleep." She spoke slowly, and in single syllables, like she didn't really understand what each word meant, but judging from the smile on her face she understood what the entire sentence meant.

"You... you are speaking Latina!" Percy almost shouted at her, a smile on his own face.

"La-tin-ah," She repeated.

"Yes, yes," Percy nodded enthusiastically, "You spoke Latina."

Annabeth nodded, "La-tin-ah." She still spoke in single syllables, but Percy could tell that she understood that Latina was a language.

"That's...that's amazing, Anna- wait, I drool when I sleep?"

Annabeth smiled. "You drool when you sleep," she repeated.

Percy started to laugh, a real one, that came from his gut and made him clutch his stomach.

"That...that's..that's the first…" He tried to speak in between guffaws, "The first thing….you learned….in Latina... was an insult?"

Annabeth smiled again.

"La-tin-ah," she repeated. "Percy, Latina," she pointed at him.

"Yes, Percy speaks Latina, and Annabeth speaks Graeci."

"Graeci,' she repeated and pointed to herself.

"Yes, Annabeth speaks Graeci."

Annabeth stared at him. "Annabeth..speaks...Graeci," She started, "Antiochis...speaks...Elliniká."

"Eh-lin-nee-kah…..that is what you call Graeci?" Percy asked.

"Annabeth speaks Graeci, Antiochis speaks Elliniká," She said again.

Percy realized that she was separating herself into Annabeth and Antiochis. He wondered if that had a deeper meaning to it.

"Elliniká," Percy said. Annabeth nodded.

"Percy, Latina," She put her fingers to his lips, "Annabeth, Graeci." She placed her fingers on her own lips.

"Antiochis, Elliniká," She put her fingers to her head.

Percy nodded, "Yes, good."

Annabeth turned back to her mortar. "Neem," she said.

"Neem," Percy repeated. Annabeth nodded. She took a jar that held an orange colored powder and shook some of it into the green juice she had made.

"Kourkoúmi," she pointed to the jar once she had finished.

"Uhhh, kor-kow-mee," he repeated."

Annabeth smiled and nodded. She started to mix the powder and juice together so that it made a funky colored paste. She set the pestle in the mortar and walked over to the furnace, peeking into the bowl to see the liquid. She cautiously dipped a finger into the bowl and pulled it out quickly. She grabbed a blanket from one of the beds near the furnace and used it to cover her hands as she picked the bowl up. She set it down on the table and threw the blanket carelessly on the table. She grabbed a clove of garlic and her knife. Before she started to chop it up she stood on her tiptoes to look over at the boy's wound. When she came back down on her heels she grabbed another clove. She cut them into long but thin slices.

She took the blanket off the table and wrapped it around her hands again, picking up the bowl with the water and strips of bark. She walked over to Harpalos. She looked up at Percy, who was still by the herb table. He quickly strode over to the two Graeci.

Annabeth said something to the boy and began to unwrap the strip of Percy's paludamentum that had been around the foot. She started to pour the liquid over his foot. Percy grimaced at the thought of such hot liquid spilling over an open sore. Harpalos' face twisted in pain, but he said nothing. When about half of the bowl was left Annabeth set it down on the ground.

She put her hand up to the boy and said a single word. The boy nodded.

Annabeth walked back over to the herb table and picked up the orange paste. She walked back over to the boy and knelt down to his foot. She dipped her fingers into the paste and began to spread it over Harpalos' wound. Again, the boy's face twisted, but he said nothing. When Annabeth decided that there was enough on the foot she placed it back down on the floor. She walked back over to the table, picking up the sliced garlic cloves. When she reached the boy she knelt down and began to place the garlic strips over the orange paste. When she ran out of slices she reached into the cabinet next to the bed and pulled out a strip of wool. She wrapped it around the boy's foot, tying the knot directly above the wound as Percy had done a few days ago.

She stood up and nodded at the boy. He laid down on the bed and rested his head on the pillow. Annabeth took a blanket and spread it over the boy's body, tucking the corners underneath the boy. She patted his leg and started to pick up the bowls she had set on the ground.

"Is he going to be okay?" Percy asked her.

"Oh-kay," She repeated.

"Yes, 'okay,' it means, um, good," Percy gave her a thumbs up.

She gave him a blank look. She set the bowls on the table and copied Percy's movements.

"Yeah, pollice verso, turned thumb. In this case, it's a thumbs up, meaning something good. It's a good sign.

"Good...sign," Annabeth looked down at her thumbs.

"Yes, will Harplaos be thumbs up?"He pushed.

"Thumbs up, Harpalos," She said.

Will laughed from where he was sitting near Kallisto.

He said something to Annabeth in Graeci. Judging from the motions he made with his hands, Percy concluded that Will was explaining what Percy had said.

Annabeth nodded and turned back to Percy. "Yes," she said, "Harpalos okay."

"Thank you, Annabeth," Percy said.

"Thank you," Annabeth repeated.

"Efcharistó," Will said to Annabeth. She nodded.

"Parakaló," Annabeth said to Percy and then turned back to the bowls, picking the one with the hot water up and placing it back over the furnace.

Will smiled, "She said 'you're welcome.'"

Percy nodded.

"Kallisto," Annabeth said and pointed to her sister. Will and Percy both nodded as Annabeth walked toward Kallisto.

WIll walked over to the boy and inspected the bandage.

"She did a good job," he said. "She's incredibly knowledgeable, it is rather surprising."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Will responded.

"Why is it surprising?"

Well," Will started, "you were there when Lydus was interrogating her, yes?"

Percy nodded.

"Then you know she is the granddaughter of a fish merchant?"

Again, Percy nodded, "I think she said she was trained in crafts, right?"

"Yes," WIll assured, "She never mentioned about being trained in medicine, and I doubt she can read, so she must have watched others do it or figured it out herself. Or maybe she can read, she seems suspiciously intelligent."

Percy and Will looked over to where the girls were. Percy felt a small poke in his side. He looked down the see Harpalos looking up at him from his spot on the bed.

"Yes, boy?" He asked. Will turned to look at them and translated for them. Harpalos looked at Will, and then back at Percy, then to Will, and back to Percy. He said something in his language.

Will smiled and replied.

"What'd he ask?" Percy questioned.

"He asked who Annabeth was to you."

"Well, what did you tell him?"

"That she was your secret lover."

"You're kidding."

"Yes, I'm kidding. I said she was your friend."

"Friend," Harpalos whispered.

"Yes, boy, we are friends. Annabeth is my friend. I will be your friend," Percy said to the boy.

Will translated, and Harpalos nodded, his eyes still on Percy.

Harpalos said something else in his language. This time Will hesitated before translating for Percy.

"He….he wants to know what's going to happen when everyone gets off the ship."

Percy sucked in a breath and dropped to one knee, "When we get off this ship someone will take you and undress you and take you to a crowd of people, and then I will talk with some people, and give you back your clothes, and then you will come home with me. It's very scary at first, but I can make my house a safe place for you. Are you alright with that?"

Will translated, looking between Percy and Harpalos a couple of times before finishing his sentence.

Harpalos turned his attention from Will to Percy and nodded.

"Alright then. That's what we'll do. Do you have any family on this ship?"

Again, Will translated. Harpalos responded with the same set of syllables that Annabeth had used back on Graecia.

"He said his-" Will started to say something but Percy cut him off.

"His grandma, right?"

Will nodded silently.

"Tell him that his Yaya can come to my house with us."

Will nodded and turned back to Harpalos. As Will and Harpalos spoke Percy turned back to see Annabeth and Kallisto talking quietly. He pushed himself off his knee and walked over to them. Annabeth looked up at him and said something to her sister, her eyes still on Percy.

Kallisto smiled and placed Hecuba in Annabeth's arms. Annabeth stood up and cocked her head toward the bed next to Kallisto's. She sat down on it and looked at Percy expectantly.

"Pillows," He nodded. Just as he had done last night, Percy began grabbing every pillow that could fit in his arms and then arranged them behind Annabeth.

"Yes," she nodded, "okay." She leaned back.

"Percy," she patted the spot next to her.

"Yes, what is it?"

She repeated her previous actions. Percy sat down next to her.

"Hecuba," Annabeth said to him.

"The baby, yes?"

"Baby," she repeated.

"Yes, baby, a, um, a small human. That drools a lot. Like Hecuba."

"Percy you drool in your sleep," She smiled at him.

"Yes," he smiled, "I drool when I sleep, as you so politely told me."

"Yes," she agreed.

"Hecuba?" Annabeth looked up at Percy, raising Hecuba a little bit toward him.

"Um, sure, I'll hold her," Percy stretched his arms out.

"Yes, okay," Annabeth said.

"How have you been, sweetheart? Did you miss me? Did your auntie miss me? I bet she did; I'm pretty awesome. You're pretty awesome, too, you know that? You're a strong girl, like your mama and your auntie."

"Pear-cy speak," Annabeth commanded.

"Um, I am speaking."

"Yes, Percy speak."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm speaking to Baby Hecuba. And baby Hecuba listens."

"Listens."

"Yes, with your ears," Percy rearranged his hold on Hecuba so that her head was still supported but one of his hands was free. He pointed to his ear.

"Yes. Hecuba listens. Annabeth listens." Annabeth stated.

Percy smiled, "Yes, Annabeth and Hecuba listen."

"Percy, give Annabeth the baby, please. I'd like for us to try nursing again," Will's voice gradually got clearer as he walked closer to them.

Will spoke to Annabeth in Graeci as Percy stared into Hecuba's big grey eyes. They were the exact same shade as Annabeth's eyes.

"Yes, Percy, Hecuba," Annabeth opened her arms toward Percy.

"Yes, you nurse now."

"Now,"

"Um, I'm not really sure how to explain now if you don't know other words."

Will must have said the Graeci word for 'now,' because Annabeth nodded and repeated the word.

"Percy you drool when you sleep," Annabeth stated.

"Um, yes, so you've told me," Percy laughed a little.

Will shook his head, "No, Percy, he wants you to sleep."

"Oh!" Percy looked back to Annabeth, "No, no, it's okay, I should stay awake and help Will with Kallisto and Harpalos."

"Yes, Harpalos," Annabeth nodded her head toward something behind Percy.

Percy turned back and saw Harplaos creeping up to the bed he and Annabeth were on.

"Boró na do to moró?" Harpalos asked Annabeth. She nodded and slanted toward him so she and Hecuba were closer to him.

Harpalos let out a little gasp when he pulled the blankets back to see the baby.

"Isn't she cute?" Percy asked Harpalos. He said nothing in response but looked back at Percy for a split second and then turned back to Hecuba.

"Eínai aftó to moró sas epísis?" Harpalos was looking at Percy expectantly.

"Uhhh…"

Annabeth laughed from beside him. Will had a small smile on his face.

"Óchi, aftó den eínai to moró tou. Aftí eínai i anipsiá mou," Annabeth said.

"Tóte se poion aníkei to moró?" Harpalos had a sort of baffled look on his face.

Annabeth nodded toward Kallisto, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, "I aderfí mou."

"Oh," Harpalos whispered.

"O megálos eípe óti ítan polý árrostos," Harpalos said to Annabeth.

"Nai, eínai árrostos, allá tha veltiotheí," Annabeth said to the boy.

"Aftó eínai kaló. O ánthropos tis iliofáneias tha tin voithísei?"

Annabeth laughed and nodded.

"Will," she called and beckoned him over from where he was standing next to Kallisto.

"Akoúsate ti sas kálese? Sas kálese ton 'ánthropo tis iliofáneias,'" She laughed.

Will had a small smile on his face, though it didn't seem to reach his eyes. Instead, there was a certain sadness in them.

"What?" Percy asked.

Will turned his body toward Percy, "The boy called me 'the sunshine man.'"

Percy held back a snort, "It suits you."

"Ha ha ha," Will rolled his eyes as he walked away.

Percy didn't notice until Will walked away, but Annabeth and Harpalos were speaking quietly to each other in their language. They would frequently look between Will and Percy.

"You guys talking bad about me?" He smiled and leaned toward Annabeth.

"Annabeth and Harpalos speak thumbs down about Percy?" He rephrased for Annabeth.

She smiled somewhat tightly and shook her head, "No. Annabeth, Harpalos no speak thumbs down Percy. Annabeth, Harpalos speak Percy okay. Percy thumbs up. No Percy, no Will, no Graeci, thumbs down. Romi thumbs down."

The smile fell off Percy's face. He looked down at the sheets and played with the sheets before speaking, "Yes, most of my, um, charge are thumbs down. But when we get to Roma things will be thumbs up."

"Roma."

"Yes, Roma. You say Romi."

"Say."

"Yes, you speak Graeci, you say Roma. You say words. You speak a language. Graeci is a language. Roma is a word. Baby is a word. Percy is a word. Plant is a word," Percy tried to think of more words that she had heard him say.

"Yes, Annabeth say word, Annabeth speak Graeci."

"Percy say Roma thumbs up?" SHe said it more like a question than a statement.

"Yes, Roma is thumbs up, because I will protect you in Roma."

"Protect."

Percy nodded, "Yes, protect. Like, when you are in pain, when you hurt, I will protect you. When thumbs down men try to hurt you, I will protect you. ANd when thumbs down people try to hurt Yaya, or Hecuba, or Kallisto, you protect them."

"Yes," Annabeth agreed, "Percy protect Annabeth, Annabeth protect Kallisto, baby, Yiayia."

"Yes. You protect your family."

"Family."

"Yes, family. Kallisto, Hecuba, and Yaya, they are your family. Annabeth, Kallisto, Hecuba, Yiayia, you are all family."

"Yes. Family thumbs up."

"Yeah," he said, "family is thumbs up."

"Hey, guys, I hate to break up this rather heartfelt Latina lesson, but dawn is coming soon, and I would like for everyone to be in their, um, rooms when the sun comes up."

Annabeth looked at Will as he spoke, He said something to her in Graeci, probably his previous command."

"Yes, okay," Annabeth answered. She pulled Hecuba away from her breast. At this point, the baby had fallen asleep and her mouth was simply open, drool dripping onto her aunt's breast.

Will said something else in Graeci, this time directed at Harpalos. The boy nodded and then walked out the door.

When all of the Graeci had gone Percy made his way to the door. Before he reached it, though, Will grabbed his arm.

"I told the boy to come back again tonight. He will be fine, I'm almost certain. That wrap that you put on helped keep a lot of the bad humors out, so thank you."

Percy nodded in response and started to walk toward the door again, but Will tightened his grip.

"Percy," he said seriously, "When Annabeth and the boy were speaking she told him that Kallisto would get better. I don't think that's going to happen. I won't be surprised if we lose her in the next few days. I believe she had Cholerae. It's extremely common and extremely deadly. Honestly, I'm surprised she's lasted this long. Come back here to the infirmary tonight. If they are not here I will send you to check on them. Brace yourself for a rather uncomfortable next few nights. Annabeth's lost a lot of family in the past few days. Losing Kallisto would be heartbreaking for her. They're very close. But it also means that she will have two people dependent on her; a baby and her grandmother. We need to do everything we can to lighten her burden."

Percy nodded solemnly, "Alright."

Will let go of his arm. "Brace yourself. She will be in pain the next few days. I heard your conversation earlier. Protect her and her family, please."

Percy nodded. He watched Will walk to the back of the room before turned around and walking out the door.

 **Hella long AN coming up. Oh my god, when I first got onto FF I was convinced that I would be able to update every week and that I would be so good at staying on task and now look at me. I'm so sorry. But, in my defense, not that you want to know, but I got a kitten (I literally went to help out at my local animal shelter and brought back a cat on my first day working there; pretty much explains all you need to know about me in a sentence), broke up with my boyfriend, went to three different doctors because I'm going on a mission/awareness trip to Guatemala and I have Type 1 Diabetes so people watch me like a fucking hawk, and now I'm laying in bed eating soup and typing this. Anyways, sorry for the wait. I'll try to do better. I am, however, going on a camping trip for the next week sans WIFi and internet so I may (very strong may) end up posting another chapter today/tomorrow and then go MIA.**

 **On the bright side, I have like four other WIP so you may see them by the end of July. Maybe. I don't know, I've kinda proven myself to be a little flakey.**

 **By the way, if any of you have music recommendations I'd love for you to share it. I like basically all music, truly.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review. I went through a stage of writer's block (which is why this took so long) and I swear I read and reread every review at least fifty times. I love your reviews so much.**

 **Te amour- "Greatly enjoying this so far. The language barrier is a great touch, it's cute, emphasizes personality and adds to potential character/plot development as something they'll have to get through in the future.**

 **Not sure about the modern slangs and some of the words. I imagine Romans would not have used words such as "boobs" and they were definitely not advanced enough to know what cognitive damage is. I would suggest refraining slightly from using relatively complex words and technical terms considering the Ancient Roman's technological capabilities were far inferior to our era and they probably wouldn't have used a word in day to day speech which was as complex as "quintessential". Perhaps the slangs are something to take the place of what the Romans would have used in their time?**

 **Regardless,** terrific **start. Looking forward to more."-** Thank you so much, I didn't actually think of that when I was writing it. I tried to use as few slang words as possible, at least when they're speaking. A lot of what to Roman's did were similar to what we do today (i.e. graffiti, political cartoons, etc.) but the language itself didn't have nearly as many synonyms as English does. And yes, the language barrier will be a very relevant conflict in the plot. Thank you so much for your review!

 **percabeth9 "This is an amazing story. I really want to read the next chapter."** \- Here you go, darling. Thank you for reviewing!

Artemis0406 **"you must have done incredible homework to write this.**

 **great story" -** You have no idea how much work I've put into researching this. If I put in half as much work into school as I do into this fic I'd be set for an Ivy League. Thank you so much for your review!

 **Peace "This was pretty good I'll admit I should really expand on this thx**

 **Also little word of advice this wasn't really M rated worthy I would put it at medium T" -** I had originally put this as M because I thought I'd get into a little more sexual stuff in later chapters, and possibly because of the violence during the attack on Corinth, but as for now I agree with you; it's probably T. I may ut it as T for a little bit and then change it back to M, I'm not really sure. Thank you so much for your review!

 **Guest "I love reading this chapter! Especially the charades part, which is really funny in my opinion. I really like how you never go short on words and would explain the scenario very vividly, but still not going over the top with descriptions. It put a nice touch in this story, and I really really hope I'll be reading more of this soon! Totally loved it!"-** I love the charades part too. There's definitely gonna be more charades in the future, because, like I said to **te amour** , the language barrier is gonna play a big part in the plot. Thank you so much for your review, I appreciate it!

 **Guest "Hey! Doctor here! Once the baby reaches 6 months and is able to eat other stuff (like gerber and stuff) you breastfeed less, most mothers stop breastfeeding around 1 year or 2 years...5 years old who still breastfeedid is not really normal (also is really painful for the mother)"-** Okay, first of all, there is a whole ass doctor reading my work what the fuck is up with that wow. Second, I, obviously, am barely a teenage girl and have never breastfed so I don't know how long one would like to breastfeed, but I can imagine about the time they start growing teeth I would switch to (probably pumping, but they didn't necessarily have that in the Ancient Mediterranean) baby food. What we know today as "baby food" didn't come around until the Industrial Revolution. As I've read the most common baby food in ancient times were basically powdered grains and mashed up fruits. From what I've read we don't have any records of how long women actually tended to breastfeed in Greece, but in Egypt and India, they moved onto some sort of baby food at around six months, which is the age Hecuba is. But, I've also read that in less developed countries woman will breastfeed children for five years because it conserves money and subsistence crops as well as providing health benefits to both the baby and mother. Honestly, I have no idea what they would have done. But, as you may have been able to tell, I was hella excited about your review, so thank you so much!

 **Guest "This is really great! It's so different from anything I've read on here before and I can't wait to see where you go with it."-** Really? I was so worried that it would end up like all of the other Ancient Greco-Roman stories on FF. PJO/HoO is like the perfect series to write historical fiction fanfiction on so I expected there to be a lot of parallels between my story and every other story. Thank you so much for reviewing!

 **a dodge "OMG i didnt realise this updated im such a happy doggo. anyways, this chapter was so freaking cute. we need more baby hecuba and percabeth"-** Baby Hecuba and Percabeth give me life; it's hands down my favorite thing to write. Actually, Percabeth + children, in general, is my favorite thing to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you so much for leaving a review!"

 **Loverboi2000 "Wjthsohcjek** akifao

 **How are you 14? Your writing is beautiful! My fourteen-year-old self (and my current self) is extremely jealous!"-** Oh my fucking god I'm literally screaming (It's chill, though, I'm home alone). I fucking love your work like what the hell you saw my story and liked it what the fuck. Oh my god, I'm, like, fangirling, I love your stories so much, oh my god, thank you so much for writing your stories and reading my story and reviewing my story oh my god.


	5. Chapter 5- A Life with Love is a Life TB

Chapter 5- A Life with Love is a Life That's Been Lived

 **"Pigaínete me ti giagiá mou kai to moró. Aftó den eínai to méros pou prépei na gínei" -Go with my grandmother and the baby. This is not the place to be.**

 **Annabeth says two prayers in this chapter in Greek. Here are the English translations. This is the order in which they appear.**

 **Lord Hades, magnanimous and just,**

 **thy realm is an earthy tomb,**

 **remote from mortals in their fleshy bust,**

 **wrapped in Charon's watery road,**

 **thy throne is fixed into the dismal plains,**

 **unknown to most beings, mystery reigns**

 **and there, there the ancestors dwell**

 **for constant care of mortals is thy sacred role.**

 **God of the Underworld, bend thy ear to me.**

 **I honor the Key Keeper of the Underworld gate,**

 **a strong barrier 'tween the living and the dead**

 **opened unwillingly in the spring, joyfully in the fall,**

 **for the passage of your love and dread queen.**

 **I honor thee as wise Judge of the Dead for**

 **together with thy wife, Demeter's daughter,**

 **thee determine the future fate of the dead,**

 **when my time comes remember, I plead,**

 **the love and gifts I willingly offer thee.**

 **As the generous Giver of Fortune and Food,**

 **to thee belongs the wealth of the ground**

 **whether edible root or gleaming pebble,**

 **please be generous to me and mine,**

 **a little more than enough is all we need.**

 **All-ruling god, who receives all in the end,**

 **Glory bright, favor my works with glee**

 **for this holy rite honors thy wife and thee!**

 **Lord Haides I hail! Be welcome**

 **Be to her, Persephone,**

 **All the things I might not be:**

 **Take her head upon your knee.**

 **She that was so proud and wild,**

 **Flippant, arrogant and free,**

 **She that had no need of me,**

 **Is a little lonely child**

 **Lost in Hell,—Persephone,**

 **Take her head upon your knee:**

 **Say to her, "My dear, my dear,**

 **It is not so dreadful here."**

Percy's day was slow. Looking back on it, he probably should have enjoyed that slow day, because the night was...the night was intense.

As Will had predicted, Annabeth and Kallisto were not in the infirmary. Percy found out why when he went down to the slave room.

He stepped over body after body, careful not to step on or wake up anyone. He cursed in his head, but it ceased when he heard the whimpers.

They were mournful and barely concealed like the person crying knew they shouldn't be loud but were in too much pain not to be.

Percy's heart broke a little at the sound, but he continued moving towards where he knew Annabeth and her family were sitting. He shook his head at how his charge could sleep peacefully while a child whose life they tore apart was crying in the middle of the night.

"Annabeth," he whispered. He received no answer. He continued walking towards Annabeth's family.

"Annabeth," he hissed. Again, he received no answer, but the whimpered hushed. Percy guessed he was being too loud and had scared the crying child. He decided to just walk over to where the family was. He had a candle with him, but it was smaller than the one he took to look for Harpalos.

The old woman was the first person he saw. He lifted the light up to see better. The old woman's face was wet. Perhaps she had been the one crying? Percy couldn't imagine the pain she would be feeling, losing her husband, her son/grandson, and having a sick daughter/granddaughter-in-law.

Oh. Oh.

Percy looked down at the old woman's arms and saw baby Hecuba sleeping peacefully. At the woman's feet were the bodies of two women. The one with blonde hair was hunched over the woman with dark hair, holding on tight to her. When Percy bent down he could hear Annabeth sucking in large breaths and shakily letting them out.

He couldn't hear Kallisto's breathing.

"Annabeth," he murmured.

She gasped and her head shot up.

Her eyes were a bloodshot red and her face was puffy. Her grip on Kallisto's body tightened, but her whimpering quieted down. She looked back at the old woman.

"No Kalli," She whispered.

"Come here, come here. Let me see her, we'll get her to Will," Percy reached his arms out.

"Yes, Percy protect Kallisto Will, Annabeth protect Yiayia, baby Will."

Percy cocked his head. He should probably teach her conjunctions soon.

"Take, Percy will take Kallisto to Will, and Annabeth, Yiayia, and baby will come go to Will," Percy said to Annabeth.

"Yes, okay," she answered. She grabbed the candle from his hand and helped her grandmother up off the floor.

Percy tried not to think about how cold Kallisto's body was. He couldn't feel her breathing, but it was probably just really soft. Will had said that whatever was making Kallisto sick was deadly, but both he and Annabeth had been taking care of her, and they were two of the gentlest people he'd ever met. They just needed to get her to the herbs in time.

"Will!" Percy pushed the door open with his shoulder.

"Will, something is wrong, she's cold, and I can't hear her breathing, fix her!" Will looked up from where he was kneeling in front of Harpalos. He had a sorrowful look on his face.

He shook his head, "Percy, I told you to brace yourself. I don-"

"Fix her, Will!"

Again, Will shook his head, "That's not how it works, Percy. We can only do so much. Pluto takes as he pleases."

"Yes," came a voice from behind Percy, "Take. No Kallisto. Now, family take Kallisto. No Kallisto Roma."

Will nodded at Annabeth.

"Percy," he said, "why don't you lay Kallisto on the bed." it was more of a command than a question.

"You...you mean...she'd gone?"

"Gone," Annabeth repeated, "Kallisto gone. Now, family take Kallisto. Protect Kallisto."

"She wants to give her a funeral," Will said to Percy.

"Water, body," Will turned to Annabeth as he spoke, "You need to put her body in the water. We can't burn her."

"Yes," Annabeth agreed, "Family take...body. Body...water." She pointed to the ship's wall.

Annabeth walked over to the bed Percy had placed Kallisto on. She took off the palla that was wrapped around her. She reached to lift up Kallisto's corpse, probably to place the palla underneath her, but cried out when her hands touched her sister's cold body. She sank to the floor clutching her stomach and chest.

"Annabeth," Percy put his arm around her and tried to soothe her.

"Kallisto, come!" She yelled out.

"No, no, no, Kallisto isn't coming back. We're taking her to the water. We'll put her body in the water," Percy rubbed her arm.

"No, no! Percy say Annabeth protect family. Now family gone. Annabeth no protect family," She shook her head, tears starting to fall.

"Annabeth," Percy said again.

"Annabeth...gone. Kallisto come," she looked up at Percy.

"No, Annabeth. Your family needs you. You protect them. We cannot control who dies and when. We can only control the aftermath. It's going to be alright, come on, let's wrap her up."

"No!" Annabeth ripped herself from Percy's hold.

"No! Percy...Percy okay! Percy thumbs up! Annabeth thumbs down! Percy no...Percy no take!" She was starting to shout, "Annabeth family gone! Percy family...Percy family Roma. Roma thumbs down!"

"Annabeth, calm down, I don't understand," He pointed to his head and shrugged during the last part of his sentence.

"Yes! Percy no understand! Percy protect family. Annabeth family gone. Gone...Roma take family. Percy Roma."

"What?" Percy shook his head at Annabeth.

"Percy," Will's voice came from behind him.

"She's angry," He started, "She wants Kallisto back, and her home back, and her family. And, Percy, she's scared. Scared as all fuck. What I think she's trying to say is that you don't understand what she's feeling because your family is safe in Roma. And because of that she feels betrayed because she believes you are a good man, but she also believes, rightly so, if I may say, that Roma killed her family. And you are Roman. I think, maybe, having something akin to a sister with her, even a sickly sister-in-law with a new baby, I think that gave her courage. Now that Kallisto is gone she feels more alone and angry, and helpless. She's literally on an enemy warship, her family's bodies are scattered along the Corinthian coast, there's a huge language barrier between her and basically everyone in power on the ship and her sister just died in her arms. From the coldness of Kallisto's body, she's been dead for a while."

"Oh my gods," Percy looked at Annabeth, "You've been holding on to her corpse all day?"

"Kallisto come! Annabeth protect Kallisto. Annabeth protect body. Kallisto body. Body come. Kallisto come."

"You think if her body stays with you then she stays with you," Percy noted.

Will translated.

"Yes!" She shouted, "Kallisto body stays with Annabeth, Kallisto stays with Annabeth!"

"Then why do you want to have a funeral? Not that I'm discouraging it, since, you know, eventually you need to let go, but why?"

Will translated for Annabeth, and she responded as best she could in Latina.

"Kallisto body...water. Water, um, Graeci. Graeci water. Water Graeci. Kallisto stay water Graeci."

"You want to bury her in Graeci waters."

Annabeth stared blankly at him, but Will nodded beside him.

"Yes, I think that's what she was saying, too. And, depending on her definition of Graeci waters, we're running out of time.," Will stated.

"Yes, Graeci waters," Annabeth confirmed.

"Alright, what do we need to do?" Percy asked.

Annabeth bent down and picked up the palla she had dropped during her outburst. She gently swung it over her shoulders and around her body, Then she pointed to Kallisto's body and said, "Annabeth, Kallisto body."

"Alright. You think you can do that yourself this time?"

Instead of answering Annabeth began to wrap the large square of fabric around the corpse. When she got to the chest area she took Kallisto's palla off her body.

For the first time that night Percy caught sight of a little boy.

Harpalos. He was inching closer to the corpse.

Annabeth looked up at the moment, her mouth opened like she was going to say something. She looked at Harpalos for a long time while the boy stared back.

"Pigaínete me ti giagiá mou kai to moró. Aftó den eínai to méros pou prépei na gínei," She commanded. Harpalos nodded and went to stand by Nemarete.

"Baby," she said and pointed to Kallisto's palla.

Will smiled and nodded.

Annabeth turned and walked over to her grandmother. She gently took Hecuba from her hands and removed one of the blankets around the baby. She slung it over her shoulder and started to wrap Hecuba in her deceased mother's palla.

'Oh Gods,' Percy thought, 'the child has had both her parents ripped away from her.'

Percy thought back to his own son. Sure, he wasn't around as much as he'd like to be, and it fucking killed him, and, yeah, Rachel would rather leave their son to the midwives, but at least both their parents were alive and breathing and could show him how much they loved him when he felt alone. Hecuba would only have faint memories of her parents. And even then, the memories would probably be told to her by her aunt.

Annabeth took Hecuba's baby blanket off her shoulder and started to wrap it around her dead sister's chest. When a small section of the blanket was left and Kallisto's neck was about to be covered Annabeth stopped. She moved her blonde hair aside to reveal a gold choker with a single cabochon amethyst in the middle. She quietly unclasped the choker from her own neck and proceeded to put it on the corpse.

She stepped back from the bed when her grandmother stepped forward. Nemarete placed Hecuba in Annabeth's arms and looked to the body. She slowly pulled a clip out of her white hair. It tumbles down to her tailbone. Nemarete swept part of Kallisto's hair into an updo and placed the pin in the dead girl's hair.

Nemarete stepped back and took the baby from Annabeth's arms. Annabeth stepped toward the body again. Hesitantly, she pulled a chain from around Kallisto's neck. When she held it up to the moonlight Percy could see a small charm hanging from it.

Annabeth walked back to her grandmother and twisted the necklace into the folds of the blanket Hecuba was tucked into.

Annabeth walked over to the herb table. She pulled a couple white flowers off the stems and dropped them into a bowl. She poured a bit of water in the bowl with the flowers and then moved the bowl over the small fire. She turned to the herbs table and picked up a few flowers, twisting them together into a wreath. She twisted the herbs while she watched the water boil. When a faint aroma started to spread through the room she took the bowl off the fire. She brought the bowl over to her sister and dipped her hand in the water. She began to rub it over her collarbones and neck until the scent was heavily concentrated around the dead skin. She sat the bowl on the floor and hesitantly began to wrap the blanket around the corpse's face.

Percy thought the wind was making a high pitched whimpering noise until he leaned forward a little to see tears fall from Annabeth's face onto the palla her sister's body was wrapped in. Percy reached his arm out, hesitated, and then stepped forward, gently rubbing his palm up and down Annabeth's upper arm.

Everyone stared at the blankets until Will quietly said something in Graeci to Annabeth. She nodded and moved aside from the bed, grabbing the wreath she had made.

"Will you help me carry the body?" The Medicus asked Percy.

Percy nodded once and picked the corpse into his arms, bridal style.

"Oh, yes, that works too. Thank you, Praetor," Will nodded toward Percy.

"Take her to the rostrum," Will told Percy, "we don't want her body to make a splash."

Percy nodded once and started walking. Annabeth followed, her arm wrapped around her grandmother's shoulders. Harpalos was tucked between the two women.

He quietly emerged from the infirmary, looking both ways before starting down the hall. Guards would be patrolling the corridors for Graecis jumping into the water to escape their fate in Roma. Percy figured that a Praetor of Roma could get away with walking the halls at night, but it would be a lot harder to explain a Graeci woman walking with her grandmother, niece, and a little boy and being followed by the Medicus.

And the corpse in Percy's arms. It may be hard to explain why the Praetor of Roma was carrying the dead body of a Graeci woman.

Still, they made it safely down the hall and onto the deck. Percy praised the gods for their luck. He also thanked the god of pars, whoever it may be, that there were no oarsmen on the deck at night. The only thing that would be a problem would be patrolling guards on deck. He peeked around the corner to look for men in uniforms. He almost jumped when he heard a loud snore from beneath him. He looked down the see a guard curled into a ball on the floor. Percy rolled his eyes.

He looked back to see Annabeth looking at him expectantly, her arm still around Nemarete.

"Come," he whispered. She followed him onto the open deck.

"Stay close," he commanded.

"Yes, stay," she agreed. He's not sure if she understood the close part, but whatever. She was still concealed by his body.

"Percy," Will's voice came from behind Nemarte, "jump down to the rostrum and get her body as close as possible to the water before you drop the body in."

Percy nodded and looked at Annabeth, who was looking at her grandmother. They seemed to be having a silent conversation with their faces. Nemarte shook her head once and Annabeth nodded.

She walked over to Percy. Harpalos tried to follow, but Nemarete grabbed his arm and whispered something to him.

"Annabeth with Percy Kallisto body Graeci water."

Percy nodded like he understood. He folded Kallisto's body up so that she fit in one of his arms and then used the other arms to help him climb down from the deck. When he reached the rostrum he turned to help Annabeth, but she had already lifted her tunica with one hand and was climbing down.

Percy knelt to the ground and waited for her to reach him. He looked up at her to see her staring intensely at the wrapped body.

"Ready, Annabeth?" He asked

"Annabeth speak,' she replied.

'Um, yeah, go ahead and speak."

"Ο Λόρδος Χάιντς, μεγαλειώδης και δίκαιος,

η σφαίρα σου είναι ένας γήινος τάφος,

μακριά από τους θνητούς στην σαρκώδη προτομή τους,

τυλιγμένο στο υδατόδρομο του Kharon,

ο θρόνος σας είναι στερεωμένος στις δύσκολες πεδιάδες,

άγνωστο στα περισσότερα όντα, βασιλεύει μυστήριο

και εκεί, οι πρόγονοι κατοικούν

για τη συνεχή φροντίδα των θνητών είναι ο ιερός σας ρόλος.

Ο Θεός του Κάτω Κόσμου, λυγίστε το αυτί μου σε μένα.

Τιμώ την κλειδαριά της πύλης του κάτω κόσμου,

ένα ισχυρό εμπόδιο μεταξύ των ζωντανών και των νεκρών

άνοιξε απρόθυμα την άνοιξη, με χαρά το φθινόπωρο,

για το πέρασμα της αγάπης και της βασίλισσας τρομοκρατίας.

Σας τιμώ ως σοφός δικαστής των νεκρών για

μαζί με τη γυναίκα σου, την κόρη της Δήμητρας,

εσύ καθορίζει τη μελλοντική τύχη των νεκρών,

όταν έρθει η ώρα μου θυμάμαι,

την αγάπη και τα δώρα που σου προσφέρω πρόθυμα.

Όπως ο γενναιόδωρος δότης της τύχης και της τροφής,

σε εσένα ανήκει ο πλούτος του εδάφους

είτε πρόκειται για βρώσιμη ρίζα είτε για αστραφτερό βότσαλο,

παρακαλώ να είστε γενναιόδωροι σε μένα και στη δική μου,

λίγο περισσότερο από αρκετό είναι το μόνο που χρειαζόμαστε.

Ο παντοδύναμος θεός, ο οποίος λαμβάνει τελικά όλα,

Δόξα φωτεινή, ευνοούν τα έργα μου με χαρά

για αυτή την ιερή τελετή τιμά τη γυναίκα σου και σένα!

Κύριε Χάιντς χαλάω! Καλώς ήλθατε," her voice, despite the seemingly meaningless gargle coming from it, was soft and breathy. She never once stopped, though Percy saw tears fall from her face into the sea.

"Good?"

"No," she shook her head, "Persephone now."

"Oh, yes, of course, sorry."

"Πες της, Περσεφόνη,

Όλα τα πράγματα που μπορεί να μην είμαι:

Πάρτε το κεφάλι της πάνω στο γόνατό σας.

Αυτή που ήταν τόσο περήφανη και άγρια,

Flippant, αλαζονική και ελεύθερη,

Εκείνη που δεν είχε ανάγκη από μένα,

Είναι ένα μικρό μόνο παιδί

Χαμένος στην κόλαση, Περσεφόνη,

Πάρτε το κεφάλι σας πάνω στο γόνατό σας:

Πες της: "Αγαπητέ μου, αγαπητέ μου,

Δεν είναι τόσο φοβερό εδώ."

Percy waited a bit before speaking, "Now?"

"No," Annabeth replied. She did nothing but continued to stare at her covered face.

Percy was silent for a long time out of fear that he would interrupt a prayer in her head, but when a full sixty seconds passed without her blinking he cleared his throat.

"Um, no rush, but if we're spotted your body will be the one tossed into the sea," he tried for a laugh at the end.

She turned her face to look at him. Her eyes were an almost iridescent metal color in the moonlight. Her eyes trailed from his face down to his hand. She reached out and touched the golden wedding ring on his finger.

"Give Annabeth," she commanded.

"No, Annabeth, this is my wedding ring. Plus, you can't just have whatever you want."

"Yes. Give Annabeth. Annabeth want."

"No,"

Her eyes flared. Percy remembered how the first word his son learned to understand was 'no.' Apparently, that was universal when learning a language.

"Yes. Annabeth want," she looked down at the body.

"Hey, guys, I get this isn't really a traditional service and I want you to do whatever you must so that Kallisto's soul rests in the afterlife, but can we hurry it up a little?" Will's voice came from above. He said something in Graeci, probably a translation for Annabeth.

"I think she's politely trying to steal my wedding ring," Percy told Will.

Will stared back at Percy.

Annabeth said something in Graeci to Will. It sounded like she was complaining.

Will started snickering, "No, Praetor, she is not 'politely trying to steal your wedding ring.' She needs a gold coin or something of value for her sister's entrance to the underworld."

"Oh," Percy said, "See that's considerably more acceptable than stealing a ring. But does it have to be my wedding ring? If I get home without a ring Rachel will go berserk. What about the ring on your finger? You're not married if I remember correctly. You don't have a wife to go berserk on you, why don't you give Annabeth the ring?"

Will looked down at the ring on his finger, "It was given to me by a…...very good friend. Do you have anything else of value you're willing to part with?"

Percy breathed out through his mouth, "I don't….wait, actually…."

He gently placed the body on the rostrum and went to work digging through the folds of his toga.

"This," he held up a fish-shaped fibula made out of silver and lined with emeralds and amethysts.

"Yes, thank you," Annabeth took the fibula from his hand and held it to her chest. She knelt down next to the body and quietly unwrapped Kallisto's face.

Her skin was turning a sickening grey color. Looking at her corpse one could see that in life she was beautiful, like the goddess Kore from Percy's childhood bedtime stories, but now she was nothing but the remains of a girl. Not a woman, not a wife, not even a mother, simply a little girl who's thread was cut too soon.

Annabeth placed the fibula over Kallisto's white lips and starting to wrap her face up. Percy could see her hands shaking and hear her breathing heavily.

He placed a hand on her back. She took a deep, shuddering breath and placed the wreath she was holding on Kallisto's torso.

"Okay," she said quietly, "Kallisto go now."

"Alright," Percy agreed. He lowered her body into the water, the cloth around the corpse becoming soaked almost immediately. He gently pushed the body away from the boat, watching it float toward the back of the trireme.

"Kallisto with Malcolm now," Annabeth stated.

"What?"

She turned to him, "Kallisto with Malcolm now." She stared at him a while longer before turning and climbing back up to the deck.

Percy followed. When he reached the top Annabeth was holding her grandmother and Harpalos tightly.

"Let's let them rest," Will said.

"Do you think they will come tomorrow?" Percy asked.

Will nodded, "I will ask them to. I want to check on Harpalos' foot tonight and then re-apply the herbs tomorrow, and I want to check on how Hecuba is doing with breastfeeding. If they don't come I'll send you to get them, but if they resist don't push them. We'll be in Roma soon. That will be stressful enough for them as it is. They don't need the Praetor of Roma pushing them to sneak off in the night."

Percy nodded.

"You should sleep, too."

Percy hummed in response.

Will shook his head and walked toward the Graecis. Percy hung back, watching them. They nodded in response to Will and turned back toward the hall.

Annabeth turned around to look at Percy. He smiled and nodded at her. She managed a small smile in return and stopped walking, indicating she wanted to walk with him.

He caught up to her as quickly and quietly as possible. She walked slowly, not saying anything. Percy kept glancing at her, hoping to see her mouth move or any sort of communication, but she kept her head down.

When they reached the Graeci prisoners' room she stopped and turned to him. She reached out for his hand and grasped it tightly, rocking back and forth and trying to conceal her sobs.

Percy wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly while she cried.

They stayed that way until she ran out of tears.

 **So it's been what, a decade or so since I've updated? Yeah, sorry about that. I mean my excuse was that I was on a mission trip to Guatemala, so it's not like I've been sitting at home doing nothing. I really missed writing. Like I said in my AN last chapter, I have a couple one-shots I'm working on, but they're going more slowly than expected. I have all these ideas in my head and they get all jumbled up together. It's hard to organize them. Also, I'm lazy. Anyways, next chapter has like a 95% chance of being about when they land in Rome. Also, what do you think Percy's son's name should be? I'm thinking something akin to the sons of the OG Perseus (Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus, and Electryon** ) **, but if you have another idea or a request leave a review.**

Ostrichface **\- "ok this is amazing i love how you wrote percy, with him trying so hard to speak latin its adorable"-** Get ready for some Percabeth bonding time ft. the language barrier. Thank you so much for your reviews on every chapter, it's adorable. This is weird, but I feel closer to the guests who review every chapter. Thanks so much for taking the time to review so much!

 **CDisthename- "I want you to know the first sentence is literally amazing and caught my attention. Bless, you have a great writing style."-** Thank you so much! I always get worried that my hook sentence isn't strong enough or that the writing itself if mediocre so your review means a lot. Thank you so much!

 **Guest- "Update soon please!"** Okay, yes, here you go, baby, I'm so sorry for the wait, it was ridiculously long. I'll try and update sooner than a month later for Ch6. Thank you so much for your review!


	6. Chapter 6- The Walk Before the Run

**"Tata" is like the equivalent of "Daddy" or "Papa" in Latin**

 **Prandium is the Roman version of lunch, although it was more of a hearty snack than an actual meal because dinner was always a big deal.**

 **Sesterces were something like a Roman quarter, so they probably didn't actually count money in that form. Denari existed at that time (it was brought in during the second Punic war) but throughout the Republic and Empire the currency kind of fluctuated so that it's hard to understand the value and relationships between the sesterce, denarius, aureus (which I'm not sure even existed yet). But, there were records of slaves being sold in Pompeii in 79AD, one being a male slave sold for 6,252 sesterces. Also, in present-day Britain, a Gaelic girl was sold for 2,400 sesterces.**

 **Roman slaves were basically like cars in today's society. Almost everyone owned at least one, rich people had more than they needed, poor people had less than they needed, the more exotic the car/human was the more it sold for. Slaves were stripped naked when being sold for the same reason we test drive cars - to see how good it really was, and if it only looked good on the outside.**

Annabeth did come the next night. She had brought Nemarte with her. She only spoke to Will, and even then, they were short responses. She had grasped Percy's hand as she left and kissed Harpalos on the forehead.

She did the same thing the next night. That had been their last night on the boat.

Percy was standing with Will on the dock, watching his charge unload the Graecis.

Harpalos was one of the first brought out. He stumbled out onto the dock. Before he regained his footing he was thrown into a cart full of other children. A few more kids were brought out and pushed onto the cart with Harpalos before it was pulled away towards the square.

The next group to be brought out was made up of the young women. Percy searched for Annabeth, hoping he wouldn't find her. That would mean she was with Nemarte and Harpalos' grandmother.

A few blondes were brought out and clustered together on the cart. They would sell for more than brunettes. There were two redheads captured. They would sell for the most.

Percy looked across the blondes for Annabeth. He didn't see her, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. There were a considerable amount of blondes in a single spot; it'd be hard to separate one from the rest.

A ruckus arose from near the ship. It was mostly deep voices grunting, but there was a single shrill screech that could only come from a woman. Percy looked up to see a flash of blonde and a wave of light blue. He didn't need to see the woman's face to know it was Annabeth. She was screaming and pushing against the arms of two men. Another man trailed behind the two men and Annabeth. He was rolling his eyes and pushing against Annabeth's face.

Again, she screamed and pushed against the men. It looked like she was trying to get back on board the boat.

Percy took a step toward the scene. Will placed his hand n Percy's chest to stop him.

"No," he commanded, "Don't go to her. We can't give anyone a reason to believe we know her."

Percy's face hardened but he nodded nonetheless.

They watched Annabeth struggle against the men for a few minutes more before the man pushing Annabeth's face threw his hands up.

"For the love of Mars, one of you idiots pick her up!"

The two men grunted and nodded, the one on Annabeth's right moving aside while the one on the left threw her over his shoulder. She kicked her legs and hit her fists against the man's back. The man winced but continued walking.

He carelessly tossed her into the cart and motioned for the cart to go.

Just as the cart started rolling forward Annabeth rolled out. She stood up and started running back toward the boat. Before she had taken two steps the soldier who had carried her down grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. His hand was so tight on Annabeth's upper arm that her skin was turning red and spilling over the sides of the man's fingers. He raised his hand and smacked her hard across the face. She cried out and touched her cheek. Her entire left cheekbone was bright red, with a small cut running across it. There wasn't much blood, but the skin was broken.

Percy looked over to Will. He was wincing but shook his head when he caught Percy's eyes.

"Dammit, Tullus, don't mess up her face, you stupid idiot! Just knock her out and let's get a move on!" Lydus' voice rose over the crowd.

The soldier, Tullus, nodded and turned back to Annabeth. He quickly unsheathed a dagger and raised it above Annabeth's head.

There was a fear in Annabeth's eyes that Percy had only seen once, back on Corinth, when she thought she had lost her grandmother in the fire. She raised her free arm and frantically shook her head, using her arm to block her face.

Still, the man flipped the dagger upside down and slammed the hilt into the back of Annabeth's head. She immediately fell back, her eyes closed.

The soldier used the grip he had on her arm to launch her into the cart before it finally rolled away.

"Follow the cart, make sure she's okay. I'll find you in the square," Percy whispered to Will. The Medicus nodded and collected his supplies, following the cart of women.

Next, they brought out the young men. There were a couple of episodes like Annabeth's, but there always were with the young men. After the young men came the old women and the very few old men who had been spared. The old women would spend the rest of their days looking after children and doing other miscellaneous tasks around the house. Old men usually end up as house slaves or personal slaves. Nemarete came out with baby Hecuba in her arms and another woman, who Percy recognized as Harpalos' grandmother, trailing behind her.

Percy had wanted to wait and see the old women being loaded.

The soldiers usually gave the babies and toddlers to the older women to make the young women more desirable, and sometimes to be sold off as virgins.

The problem with babies was that no Roman wanted to raise a dirty-blooded baby. Children 7 and up, on the other hand, were in high demand because they were old enough to be independent but young enough to be taught a craft and have time to master it.

If no Graeci took the baby the Romans would drown it in the marina or leave it on the side of the road. Babies never sold enough to be worth anything.

Percy had to make sure Hecuba was with Nemarte.

Nemarte and Harpalos' grandmother got into the cart without a fight. The elderly never put up a fight.

Percy watched Nemarte wrap an arm around Harpalos' grandmother as the cart was pulled away.

"Praetor Perseus Julius," a young boy, maybe thirteen, stood behind him with the reins of his horse, Blackjack.

"Oh, yes, thank you," He said as he took the reins from the boy.

He slung his leg over Blackjack's body and adjusted the reins, nodding to the boy before urging the horse to follow the cart.

Nemarte and Harpalos' grandmother were at the back of the cart, next to the side and facing toward Percy. Nemarte shifted Hecuba in her arms and pointed to Percy, leaning down the whisper something in Harpalos' grandmother's ear. Harpalos' grandmother (who really needed a name other than 'Harpalos' grandmother') said nothing in response, but looked hard at Percy, like she was looking into his soul.

He gave her a slight nod and the smallest smile he could make. She continued to stare at him before turning her head back toward Nemarte.

The square was near the marina, instead of the very center of the town, so the ride was relatively short. Once, they hit a bump, which woke Hecuba up and made her cry. She stopped when Harpalos' grandmother started making funny faces at her. By the time they reached the square, Hecuba was looking at the woman curiously.

Percy continued into the square, still on Blackjack's back. The people groaned when they felt the animal's body but quickly closed their mouths when they saw the rider's medals and rings. Blackjack pushed through the crowd to where Will was standing.

A stage stood at the front of the square, stairs on each side. Lydus stod in the middle of the stage, a few other men in a semi-circle to the right of him. Will was standing near the left set of stars, on the opposite side of Lydus' men.

"Have they started yet?" Percy asked Will as he dismounted Blackjack.

"No," Will leaned in, "Lydus wanted to wait for all the carts to get here."

Percy nodded.

"Annabeth okay?" He asked.

Will looked at him and shrugged, "I'm not sure. When I started following the cart her head was hanging over the side, but a few of the other women picked her body up and pushed her to the middle of the cart. Lydus' men wouldn't let me check on her."

Percy winced at the visual but continued the conversation.

"And Harpalos?"

"He's playing tops with two of the other boys."

Percy smiled at the thought of children playing even in captivity.

He thought about his own little boy at home. His stomach tickled at the thought of being able to see him soon. If he hadn't meet Annabeth he would have been racing to his house to see his mother and son, but he knew the Graecis needed help.

He clasped his hands behind his back and tapped his foot in anticipation. Blackjack nudged the space between his shoulder blades and breathed down his neck.

"Ew, go away, boy," he said to his horse.

Blackjack stepped forward and nibbled at his paludamentum.

Percy huffed and turned from the horse back to the stage. Lydus clapped his hands and smiled.

"The Graeci polis Corinth has fallen to the Republic!" He yelled.

The crowd cheered.

"These prisoners of war are now slaves to Roma and her people. We will start off with the children, youngest to oldest. Then we will bid out young women, then young men, and then the elderly. Chose wisely, there are many fine captives. Strabo," Lydus turned to one of the men to his right, "gimme the-." He was cut off by a screech.

Lydus let out a breath, "Is it that damn girl again?"

"Um, actually, sir, it started with this boy. He saw the girl and ran to her and held on, but then the girl hit one of the soldiers when he took the boy away. But it's all good, Polus got her under control," one of the soldiers answered, a nervous smile on his face.

Lydus stared him down and then nodded, continuing his sentence like nothing happened.

"Strabo, gimme the youngest one."

A young girl, maybe five, was pushed toward the center of the stage. She was naked, her belly protruding grossly and her legs sickly thin. She held a small red doll to her chest. Lydus walked over to her and ripped the doll from her hands. The girl cried out and reached for it, but Lydus pushed her back.

"Sita, five, starting bid 500 sesterces."

People started calling out numbers, and the girl was soon given to a serious looking woman in her thirties for 900 sesterces. The girl was given her doll and clothes and then pulled away by the woman.

"Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mamaa!" Sita called out as she was being dragged away.

"Sistarsus, my baby, they're taking my little girl! Sistarsus! They're taking my baby!" A woman, only a few years older than Annabeth, yelled out and pushed against the guards. Her face was red and tear streaked, like her daughter's. Finally, the Roman woman picked Sita up and walked away. The mother sank to her knees once her daughter was out of sight.

Percy's heart felt weighted down as he watched the woman sob on the ground.

When Percy looked back up at Lydus he was pushing a boy, probably Sita's age, to a woman at the front of the crowd. The child was looking around frantically for someone, probably his mother, panic written on his face.

No one called out for the child.

The same scenario went on; a child crying, a mother sobbing, and a Roman dragging the child away

The prices increased with the children's age.

"Harley, eight, starting bid 900 sesterces."

"1,000 sesterces," Percy called out.

"1,200!" Came another voice.

"1,500!" Percy yelled back.

"1,600!" The voice yelled.

"1,800!"

"1,900!"

"2,000!"

"2,100!"

Percy winced but yelled out another number, "2,200!"

"2,250!"

"2,300!"

"2,325!" The voice was getting less confident.

"2,400!" Percy yelled. He waited for another bid. It was silent.

Lydus nodded at Percy and pushed Harpalos, now Harley, toward him.

The boy stumbled off the stage but was caught by Will. Lydus threw Percy Harley's clothes.

"Omph, he's big for an eight-year-old. I would have guessed around 12," Will muttered.

Percy nodded but said nothing, passing Harley his clothes.

"Koinos, friend," Harley said, pointing to another boy.

He said something to Will in Graeci. Will turned to Percy and spoke.

"He says that's his new friend. Says he has no family. Harley wants to take him home."

Percy rubbed a hand over his face, "We do need another kitchen boy. Tell Harley he'll come with us. But no more friends, I'm already gonna be broke when this is all over."

Percy got Koinos for 2,600 sesterces, which is more than he would have liked, but Harley's smile made up for the money he spent.

Harley wrapped his blanket around his friend's shoulder. They huddled together and watched a few other kids get sold.

Percy looked down to see the boys whispering to each other and Harley looking from Koinos to Percy and back again.

Will leaned down and whispered something to the boys in Graeci.

"1,700!" Will yelled. Percy tried to refrain from rolling his eyes. Apparently, he and WIll were both weaklings for little boys' puppy dog eyes.

Will got the boy, Tarchon, for 2,300 sesterces. Tarchon, apparently nicknamed Tark, quietly walked over to Will with his head down. When he saw Koinos and Harley his face broke into a smile.

"Okay, but, I'm serious, no more. Okay?" Percy asked Harley. The boy just beamed in response.

Girls became adults at twelve, while boys were considered children until around fourteen.

So when the last boy, which was fifteen, was sold, Percy knew Annabeth would come next. He wasn't sure her age, but he guessed somewhere between 14-17.

The first 'young woman' to be sold was nothing short of a child; a twelve-year-old named Mena who lacked pubic hair and had just the beginnings of breasts. She was given to a man in his forties.

Percy prayed to the gods he never had a daughter as he watched the man push Mena to the back of the crowd, holding her clothes away from her.

A couple more girls were sold before Annabeth was pushed to the stage.

"Annabella, 16, virgin, starting bid 2,000 sesterces!"

Percy closed his eyes and breathed out. Of course, she'd be an extra 1,000 because of her hair color.

"2,500!" Percy called.

"3,000!" Another man called from the opposite side of the crowd.

"3,500!" Another voice from the back of the crowd.

"4,000!" Percy yelled. Her price was going up rapidly.

"4,500!" The man from the opposite side yelled.

"5,000! Came a man from the back.

"Ugh," Percy groaned to Will, "5,250!"

"5,500," Man from the side called.

"5,750!" Percy said.

"6,000!"

"6,200!" Percy responded.

"6,250!"

"6,300!

"6,350!"

"6,400!" Percy winced.

The man was silent. Percy looked up to see Annabeth looking to the opposite side of the crowd, staring someone down.

Percy waited for the man to say something, but nothing came.

"Alright," Lydus said. He pushed her toward Percy. Percy tried to keep his expression neutral when he caught sight of Lydus eyeing Annabeth's bottom.

Annabeth ripped her clothes out of Lydus' hands and gave him an absolutely poisonous look before walking down to where Percy, Will, and the boys were.

"Pear-cy," His name rolled off her tongue, "Thank you, Pear-cy."

He smiled and tried to keep his eyes above her chest as she wrapped her tunic around herself. She folded her arms and stood behind Percy, in between Will and the boys.

"Ann," Harley whispered, "Annie!"

Annabeth looked down at him. Harley waved at her. She smiled and waved back, squatting down to look Harley in the eyes and meet the other two boys.

Koinos tucked his head into Harley's shoulder, making the other two boys giggle. Tark introduced himself (probably) and Annabeth held her hand out to him. Instead of shaking her hand, he walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her neck. She smiled and patted Tark's back.

Percy wondered if his own son would be as welcoming to Annabeth.

Annabeth had been in the younger portion of young women. Around thirty more women were sold before they moved onto the young men.

Percy rocked back and forth on his heels, anxious to see his family.

Finally, finally, the elderly went. Harpalos' grandmother went before Nemarte. Apparently, her name was Ianthe, and she was 38.

Percy bought her for only around 900 sesterces.

Ianthe wrapped her tunic and pallas around her body as she walked toward the group. When she reached Percy she took his large hand in her small one and clutched it, murmuring the word 'efcaristo' over and over. She turned to Annabeth and held her face in her hands, kissing all over her face.

She bent down to kiss Harley on the forehead. Then she kissed Koinos and Tark on the forehead. She cuddled into Annabeth's side and waited for Nemarte to come up.

"Mary, 45, comes with a baby girl, starting bid 600 sesterces."

"700!" Percy yelled. He felt Annabeth lean into his back.

"750!"

"780!"

"800!"

"825!"

"850!"

"875!"

There was no response.

Lydus pushed Nemarte in Percy's direction.

She brought her pallas around her waist like a wrap skirt and held Hecuba to her chest.

Annabeth pushed herself off Percy's back and took her arm from around Ianthe. She rushed toward her grandmother and niece, wrapping her arms around Nemarte tightly before taking the baby from her. Ianthe stood behind Annabeth, waiting to hug Nemarte. Percy was glad the women had become fast friends.

"Okay, ready to go?"

The Graecis looked at him blankly.

"Umm, go," he made a 'walking' motion with his middle and pointer finger. "Like, move," he did a little dance in place.

Will rolled his eyes. "Páme," he said and started walking.

The three boys darted ahead of Will, stopping and turning around when they realized they didn't know where to go. They soon got bored of waiting and began chasing each other in circles.

"Boys, stop, hold on, stop, wait for Will!" Percy called. Will laughed when the boys paid him no attention.

"Periménete!" Ianthe called from where she was next to Nemarte. Koinos obediently stopped where he was. Herley and Tark, on the other hand, continued as if Ianthe had never said anything.

"Harpalos!" Annabeth called out in a warning tone. Harley stopped at the sound of her voice, causing Tark to run into him and knock both of them to the ground.

Annabeth snickered next to Percy.

They walked in silence for a little while, the boys racing ahead and then stopping, then racing ahead, then stopping again, and repeating the cycle.

"Left up here, Will," Percy pointed.

Will nodded and yelled for the boys to come back.

When the terrain began to slope Percy stopped and called out to Will.

"Will! Can you tell Nemarte and Ianthe to get on the horse? The rest of the way is a hill."

Will nodded and walked back toward the Praetor. The boys saw Will walking the opposite direction and decided to play on the side of the hill.

Percy held Blackjack still as Will translated for Ianthe and Nemarte. He helped Ianthe onto the horse and then Nemarte on the back, murmuring to Blackjack what was going on. He knew the horse probably couldn't understand him, but he liked talking to him anyway.

"Okay, boy, let's go, we're almost home."

He pulled Blackjack along the trail. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Annabeth smile.

"What?" He asked her.

She continued smiling and adjusted Hecuba in her arms.

"What is it?" Percy asked again, a smile spreading onto his own face.

Annabeth started to sway and hum in response. Percy laughed a little and shook his head, looking forward.

In the distance, he could hear a dog barking and see the outline of a house.

"Almost there," he said to no one in particular.

Harley suddenly darted ahead of his friends.

Ianthe called out to him, "Har-!"

She was cut off by his scream. He ran toward Percy at full speed, hiding behind his legs.

"Ti synévi?!" Annabeth asked him.

"Megálo skylí!" He all but shouted back at her.

Ianthe and Nemarte laughed from atop Blackjack's back while Annabeth threw her head back laughing.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Harpalos is scared of your dog," Will supplied.

"My dog? Benny? He's a big ole baby. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Except when he ate fly eggs."

Will smiled and translated for Harpalos.

"Yuck," Harley answered. Percy laughed in response. When they finally reached the top of the hill where the house was they were greeted with the sight of Koinos on all fours petting Percy's Molossus, Benny, and Tark standing off to the side looking bored. When he spotted Harley he tackled him to the ground right next to Annabeth's feet.

She shook her finger at them and started scolding them. Percy laughed and walked over to where Koinos was petting Benny.

"Like him?" Percy asked, "His name is Benvenuto, but we call him Benny."

"Benny," Kionos repeated. Percy smiled widely and nodded at the boy before turning to help Ianthe and Nemarte off Blackjack.

Annabeth stood behind Percy, helping Nemarte stand upright.

"Annie," Kionos pulled at her tunic.

She hummed in response and looked down.

"Benny," he said, pointing to the dog.

Annabeth smiled and held her hand out for Benny to sniff. Benny got up off the ground to sniff Annabeth's hand, but got sidetracked and nuzzled Kionos.

Annabeth giggled and turned back to Percy and the grandmothers.

Ianthe leaned down and whispered gibberish to Hecuba, who seemed to think it was hilarious.

"Percy?" Another voice called, but this one was female and lacked the heavy accent of Annabeth's voice.

Percy turned to see his mother, Sally, in the doorway, holding onto his son.

"Ma!" He rushed toward her and picked her up, spinning her around and making both his mother and his son giggle.

"You're out of bed," Percy noted.

Sally nodded, "Yes, I was playing with Aries when we heard Benny barking. We came down to see the commotion and,-" she peeked over her son's shoulder to see two boys running around the field, a man talking to two older women, another boy holding onto a pretty young woman's tunic and petting Benny, and a gurgling baby in the young woman's arms, "-we were not disappointed."

Percy turned around, a look on his face like he just remembered the other people were still there.

"Oh, yes," he started, "These are, um, Corinthians."

Sally's smile fell.

"Slaves," she stated in a monotone voice.

Percy winced at his mother's tone but nodded.

"Yes, slaves. Well, mostly slaves. The sunshine man over there is a Medicus."

Percy turned back to his mother to see her roll her eyes.

"I don't need any more physicians. I'm fine. Look, I'm out and walking and doing everything just fine. It's just a little cold or something. I'm fine, really," she said.

Percy nodded, "He's also here because I made a deal with him on the trireme."

Sally gave him a look.

"But, but, but, but," He smiled, "It was for a good cause."

"Switching beds because you're too long for yours is not a 'good cause,'" she told him.

It was Percy's turn to roll his eyes, "Okay, that happened once. And, no, that was not the deal."

He turned around to look at the young woman, who was watching the little boys play in the field with a soft smile on her face.

"I'll explain later," he said, his eyes still on the woman.

Sally raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Annabeth," he called to the woman.

She looked at him, readjusted the baby in her arms, and then turned around to fully face him.

Percy made a 'come here' motion with his fingers.

Annabeth looked back at the boys on the field, then to the old women, and then started forward toward Percy and his mother.

When she reached them Percy placed one hand on his mother's shoulder and the other on Annabeth's back.

"Annabeth, this is my mater, Sally," Percy looked down toward Annabeth.

"Yes," Annabeth answered, "Annabeth." She put a hand to her chest.

Percy nodded, "And this is Annabeth, Ma."

Sally smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Annabeth."

Annabeth nodded and put her hand to her chest, "Yes, Annabeth."

Sally looked at her son, the smile still on her face.

Percy looked between them for a minute before putting a hand on Annabeth's chest and saying, "Annabeth."

"Yes," Annabeth nodded.

Percy put his hand on his mother's chest, "My mater."

Annabeth nodded again. "Mymater," she said confidently.

Percy shook his head, "No, this is my mater. Her name is Sally. Say 'hello, Sally."

"He-llo Sa-lly," She smiled at the older woman.

Sally smiled kindly at her.

"Ma," she said, putting a hand to her chest.

Annabeth looked confused, "...mymater? Hellosally? Ma?"

Sally smiled again.

She placed a hand on Annabeth's chest and said, "Annabeth."

The girl nodded.

Sally put a hand to her own chest, "Ma."

Annabeth nodded again and slowly put a hand to Sally's chest.

"Ma," she said. Sally nodded, smiling.

"Annabeth," she said as she put a hand to her own chest.

Sally nodded again.

Annabeth turned and put a hand on Percy's chest.

"Pear-cy," she said.

Sally nodded rapidly, still smiling,

"Yes, very good!" She cheered.

Annabeth smiled and put her hand on the baby's cheek.

"Hecuba," she said.

Sally's smile grew.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "Is that your little baby? Percy is my little baby."

"Ma," Percy started.

"Yes, Percy baby," Annabeth interrupted.

"Are you calling me a baby or just repeating the words you understood?"

"Percy baby," Annabeth restated.

Percy shrugged at his mom.

"Aries, come here. I want you to meet someone," Percy beckoned.

A little boy of around two stepped out from behind Sally's leg and inched toward Percy, his thumb in his mouth.

"Don't suck your thumb, Aries. Look at that lady. Can you say 'hello' to her for me?"

Aries kept his thumb in his mouth and leaned against Percy's left leg.

"Aries, say hello," Percy commanded.

The little boy waved his left hand at Annabeth and then hid behind Percy's leg.

Percy bent down to the boy.

Aries leaned into Percy's shoulder, his eyes still on Annabeth.

"Annabeth, this is my son, Aries Alcaeus Perseus Julius. Aries, this is Annabeth. She's gonna be helping around the house," Percy turned toward the boy during the last two sentences.

"Does that sound okay?" Percy asked his son.

Aries nodded.

"Tata?" The little boy asked.

"Hm?"

"What in lady hand?"

"That's a baby," Percy answered.

"Play with baby?" Aries turned to his dad, who was still squatting.

"No, no playing with the baby. You have to be gentle with the baby."

"Annabay?" Aries asked as he pointed to Annabeth.

"Yes, Annabeth," Annabeth herself answered, getting on her knees.

"Hi, Annabey," Aries said.

"See baby?" He asked.

Annabeth nodded and held the baby out.

"Hecuba," she told Aries, "Baby Hecuba."

"Hecuba?"

Annabeth nodded while Percy said, "That's the baby's name. Can you tell Annabeth and the baby your name?"

"I am Aries," He said, finally lifting his head up to look at Annabeth's face.

"Eye yam ar-ee-us," Annabeth repeated.

"No, I am Aries. You am Annabey," Aries told her.

Percy rubbed a hand down his face.

"Aries, Annabeth doesn't speak Latina. You have to be patient with her while she learns," He told his son.

He then turned to Annabeth and placed a hand on her chest.

"Annabeth?" He asked her.

She nodded.

Percy turned and put his hand on his little boy's chest and then looked at Annabeth.

"Aries," he said.

"Okay, yes. Annabeth," she put her hand on her chest, "Aries," her hand went to Aries' head, "Ma," she placed her hand on Sally's chest, "Percy." Her hand landed on Percy's chest.

"Yes, very good, Annabeth," Sally said.

Annabeth beamed at her.

"Okay!" Percy clapped as he stood up.

Aries whined and lifted his hands up toward his dad. Percy bent down again and picked up his boy before placing him on his hip.

"Let's get Will so we don't go through that mess with the rest of you guys."

Percy took a single step toward Will and then stopped because his son started whining.

"What?" He asked as he turned to Aries.

He was greeted with the sight of his son running his hand over the blankets Hecuba was wrapped in.

"Oh, you see the baby? It's still a baby. I promised she hasn't changed in the thirty seconds since you saw her," Percy whispered to Aries.

Aries looked at his dad and whispered back to him, "Yeah," while nodding his head.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, copying his son's actions.

Annabeth laughed and started to unwrap Hecuba's blankets just a little so that her hands and arms were free.

Hecuba reached up and waved her arms.

Aries giggled and reached for her tiny hands.

"Gentle, gentle, be gentle," Percy warned.

Hecuba's hand wrapped around Aries' wrist. Aries looked at his dad and grinned before looking back down at the baby.

Hecuba was inspecting the boy's hand very seriously, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Whatcha doin' baby girl?" Percy asked her.

She let go of Aries' wrist and looked up at Percy, sticking her hands in her own mouth and smiling around them.

Percy smiled back at her.

"Annabey, Annabey, Anna-baayy!" Aries squealed from his father's arms.

Percy looked up to see Aries tracing the contours of Annabeth's face, a large grin on his face. Annabeth had a soft look in her eyes and a sweet smile on her lips.

Aries yawned and pulled on a strand of Annabeth's long hair.

He attempted to put her hair in his mouth, but she stopped him, murmuring words in her own language to him.

Aries giggled again and reached out to touch her mouth, like he'd be able to understand the words she said if he touched her lips.

Annabeth cooed and pressed kisses into his open palm.

Aries brought his palm to his lips, kissed it, and then put his palm back on Annabeth's lip.

"Aww, you're being so sweet, Aries. What's goin' on? You aren't this sweet with everyone else," Sally's voice came from the doorway.

"Has he really not been playing nice?" Percy asked.

Sally shrugged, "Just with the people he likes. And people that feed him. A lot like the baby I raised."

Percy grumbled but said nothing in response, continuing to look at Aries play with Annabeth's curls.

"Speaking of food, I'm hungry. Aren't you? What about you, Aries? Hey, Ari, you hungry? Huh? Want some prandium?" Percy asked.

That seemed to get his attention, since his head whipped around toward his dad. His hand still held onto Annabeth's curl.

"Yum yum!" He threw his hands up in the air, Annabeth's curl still trapped tightly in his hand.

Annabeth laughed and touched her head with the hand that wasn't holding Hecuba.

"Hey, Will, can you ask them to come inside to meet everyone and have some prandium?" Percy yelled out into the field.

"Yum yum!" Aries shouted again.

"Yeah! Yum yums!" Percy raised his free hand in the hair. Aries giggled.

"Okay, let go of Annabeth's hair now," Percy said as he tried to pry the curl from his son's hand.

"No," Aries stated simply.

Sally snorted from inside the house.

"Yes," Percy argued, "Let her go."

"No! Mine!" Aries yanked her hair toward his body, causing Annabeth's head to follow.

"Gentle, Aries, be gentle. Can you let go of her and go show her where we eat? Show her where Avia set out the yum yums," Percy set Aries down slowly, waiting for Annabeth's head to follow.

Aries' eyes widened.

"Yum yum for Annabey. Annabey come, come. Come, come," He pulled on the end of her tunic until she followed him into the house.

"Okay, okay, okay," Annabeth repeated as she rushed after Aries. Benny followed them inside, and Koinos chased after Benny.

Percy laughed as he watched them.

He turned around when Ianthe's voice rose from the backyard.

Harley and Tark soon came running toward her and Nemarte, following them inside. Nemarte and Ianthe each gave Percy's hand a squeeze and his cheek a kiss before going in.

Will followed last, nodding and smiling at Percy.

Percy breathed out through his mouth, ran a hand through his hair, and went inside.

 **Hi, kids. How have you been? Like, for realsies, how are you guys? Everything okay with your families and pets and friends? Are you guys okay? Hmm?**

 **Also, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter's AN, but I'm fifteen now. I'm a big kid! Not really, I still eat chicken nuggets and take excessively long naps, but that's beside the point. I have to take my knowledge test to get my learner's permit and I'm scared as hell cuz I would rather not drive giant death machines, but I also want to go places without building a schedule around my parents'.**

 **Also, did anyone else see a stark parallel between the treatment of Roman slaves and American immigrants thetrumpadministration? Children crying, being separated from their parents, young kids being treated as if they were fully functioning adults? Children going months without baths, little boys playing with anything they could find, mothers being mistreated so badly they miscarried? Hmmm? A strict looking woman who might as well have been wearing a jacket that said: "I don't care, do u?"**

 **On a happier note, 'Annabey' and Aries are giving me so many feels like hell yeah domestic Percabeth. Domestic Annabeth, in general, gives me feels because I feel like she's such a kickass character who's been through so much and to write her in a normal place is just so cute to me. Like, yeah, she can save the world twice and take down Arachne and a helluva lot of other things but she can also make you your favorite snack and sing your kids lullabies. What a versatile queen, I love her so much.**

 **Okay, that's kind of it. I have nothing else to say.**

 **Also, I love you.**

 **ostrichface- "I swear I nearly screamed and woke my sister when I saw the update**

 **but then when I read over the translations I was just like 'oh. OH. poor Annabeth.'**

 **I seriously love your writing, keep it up**

 **as for names, I think maybe something like Lucius idk**

 **alcaeus is cool"** \- Hopefully your poor sister got some sleep this time. Also, I hope baby Hecuba + Percabeth + Aries made up for the last chapter. I remember you commenting on how we needed more Percabeth and babies. I put Alcaeus in Aries' name for you, but Lucius was too common and sounded like the name of a pretentious senator. Unless your name is Lucius. In that case, Lucius sounds like a wonderful angel baby who deserves kisses and cuddles and cookies and happiness. That you so much for your reviews, they make me so happy. I love you, Ostrich-dodge-angel-baby.

 **Loverboi2000- "I'm so happy this story is back!"** \- Me too, man. I would come to you with writer's block but I knew where I wanted the chapter to go and what I wanted the content to be, I just never found the time to work on it long enough to make it an acceptable chapter. That you so much for your review!

 **A fan**

 **"Some names:**

 **Polydectes (the king who tried to kill Pereus in legends)**

 **Acrisius (Perseus' grandpap aka another King)**

 **Benvenuto (the dude who made the famous butt naked statue of Perseus holding Medusa's head)**

 **Atlas (I want this one because well basically Calypso or at least the person portraying Calypso in this story is well ya know dead.)**

 **Aries (Aries means ram in Latin and the Golden Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts seeked was ram's pelt and the name would represent that the child would be strong and rash but elegant and powerful. If you looked deeper into the name it would mean lucky and blessed because of the Golden Fleece. I am very serious about names, even fictional character's ones.)**

 **Anyways. I already LOVE and ADORE this fanfiction. I'm really invested into it and don't give up! I'm excited to see how you show and introduce the other characters! You are an amazing writer and you paint pictures into people's minds as they read your unravelling tales. This is one of the most interesting stories I have seen on fanfiction in a long time. This story isn't just a random AU. You are basing this story on facts and you have taken time to research a lot of details. The story is even relevant to the vibes that Rick is portraying by placing are nice cast of characters into basically the past. This is very nice work and I can't wait to see future chapters.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **A fan of yours"** \- I love you and your review so much I literally read over it at least five times a day. I mean, you were so invested in the names that I couldn't _not_ name Percy's son one of the names you suggested. Did you notice the puppy's name? Don't worry, Mrs. O'Leary will still be in the story, I just think of her as more of Nico's dog than Percy's. Also, Kallisto and Calypso are two different characters, you just have to keep Annabeth's relationship with Kallisto in mind when she meets Calypso. I don't know when exactly that will be, because they (obviously) still have to settle into the household as well as meet Rachel, and Calypso won't make an appearance until after Rachel's. Also, I hope you are a Cleo shipper. That's all I'm gonna reveal, I'm keeping my mouth shut (hands off the keyboard?) for now. Thank you so much for your review, it was so wonderful and it truly made me overjoyed to see you were so invested in the story!


	7. Chapter 7- Simple and Hard to Ignore

**This chapter is completely unedited, short, and not all that interesting.**

"Aries, come sit!" Sally called.

"Ah ah!" He screamed in response.

Percy let out a little chuckle at his son's antics, which made his mother grin at him.

"Sit, sit, sit," Annabeth repeated as she walked toward the table.

"Yes, sit, sit, sit," Aries, who was trailing behind her, agreed.

"Come here, boy," Percy said as he scooped his son into his arms.

Aries shrieked and giggled at his father.

Percy swung him onto his shoulders and walked toward Sally. He pulled her stool out for her and offered her his arm to lean on. She swatted it away.

Percy set his son on the ground to play with his grandmother.

Percy turned back toward the Graecis to see Annabeth helping Ianthe into a chair and Will trying to get all the boys to stay still. Nemarte was watching Annabeth and Ianthe, her hands on her hips and her mouth in a firm line. She was peering over Ianthe at something.

"Would you like some help, Matertera?"

Nemarte turned around, surprise and confusion written on her face.

"Ti?" She asked.

"Um, tea is good, do you like tea?"

Nemarte stared at him blankly for a minute before smiling and patting his cheek, a rather odd look on her face.

Annabeth snickered from behind her grandmother. Nemarte turned around and asked Annabeth something in harsh and rapid Graeci.

Annabeth answered back, sounding defensive. Nemarte smacked her teeth. Annabeth gave her grandmother a command, probably, "sit down," since she pointed to the stool and then Nemarte sat down.

As the old woman sat down her knees buckled and she started to tip backwards. Annabeth yelled something and reached for her, but Percy grabbed Nemarte from behind and gently lowered her down in the chair.

Annabeth rushed toward them and grabbed Nemarte's face with the hand that wasn't holding Hecuba. She said something in Graeci, sounding worried. Nemarte responded and swatted Annabeth's hand away from her face. Then she reached up and smiled at Percy, patting him on the arm. She said something else to Annabeth, her hand slipping down Percy's forearm.

Annabeth didn't respond to her grandmother, instead looking at Percy with unreadable eyes and a soft face.

She mumbled something in Graeci and Nemarte chuckled. Annabeth glared at her and the old woman turned her head away in a "who, me?" manner.

Aries, who had been trailing behind Annabeth since his father put him on the ground, began to curiously trail his fingers over all of Nemarte's wrinkles, scars, calluses, and dark spots. Nemarte grinned at him and asked him something in Graeci. Aries' head shot up as he peered shyly at the old Graeci. He grinned and hooked his pointer finger in his mouth before looking toward Annabeth and giggling, his finger still in his mouth.

Annabeth giggled and scrunched her nose in response before hiking her tunic up just a little and sitting on the stool.

Aries ran (waddled) over to where Annabeth was sitting and peeked over the edge of the table, reaching for a celery stick. Annabeth, who was messing with Hecuba and trying to get her comfortable, noticed his struggle in reaching for the stick and gave it to him, turning back to the baby.

"No!" Aries whined.

Annabeth turned back to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Eat!" Aries urged as he shoved the celery stick in her face.

Annabeth laughed and took the stick from him, looking to Percy for a translation.

"Eat," Percy repeated as he held his fingers and thumb together and touched his mouth repeatedly.

"Eat, yes," Annabeth repeated and took a bite of the celery stick. Then she put it back on the table and went back to adjusting Hecuba.

Aries whined a little and shoved the celery back in Annabeth's face.

She flinched a back a little and looked at the stick in front of her face, giving her a comical double chin and crossed-eyes.

"Annabeth eat," Annabeth said and waved her hand backward over her shoulder like she was talking about something that already happened.

"Now Aries eat," she commanded as she patted the ground.

"Here, Aries, come sit with Tata. Come here," Percy beckoned. Aries giggled at his father, looked shyly up at Annabeth, who had a soft smile on her face, and then waddled over to where his dad was sitting on a couch.

"C'mere, Ari," Percy lifted his son onto his lap.

"Tata eat?" Aries asked, shoving the half eaten celery stick in his father's face.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, "Tata eat. Now Aries needs to eat."

"Avia give Aries dulcis before," Aries admitted.

"Mater!" Percy looked at his mom.

Sally's eyes widened a fraction before she quickly looked back down at her plate and started shoving random bits of food into her mouth.

Aries and Annabeth were laughing from next to Percy, and even he had to crack a smile at his mother's antics.

"Really, Aries, eat your food, it's wasteful for Avia to make all this food and then have nobody eat it," Percy said seriously to his son.

"Yes," Aries agreed, "Eat the food."

Percy nodded and picked up his spoon, starting to shove cut up and baked turnips into his mouth.

Aries would occasionally steel food from his father's plate and eat it, though almost all the food on his own plate went to the dog.

Percy pretended not to notice.

"Caw caw, ca caw caw!"

Percy looked up to see Harley playing with dried dates, holding them above his head and pretending they were birds.

"Harpalos!" Ianthe scolded.

Nemarte snickered behind her hand, earning a glare from Ianthe.

Percy looked over at Annabeth to see her trying to hide her smile by focusing in Hecuba.

"Care to tell me how you ending up bringing seven new helpers home?' Sally asked.

That was one of the things Percy admired most about his mother; she refused to call slaves "slaves." She had always taken on chores herself in an attempt to relieve work from slavs and treated them like they were humans, not possessions. Percy figured that's where his humanity came from.

"No, not really." Percy answered.

"Praetor Perseus has a crush," Will supplied before turning back to his fish.

Sally hummed, a sly look on her face.

"I'm gonna throw your golden-boy ass on the streets," Percy threatened.

"No you're not," Will replied.

Percy wasn't really going to put Will out on the streets, but he could slip toads into his bed.

"That is not what happened," Percy said to his mother.

"Oh?" Sally questioned.

Percy sighed and glanced toward Annabeth, who was cutting up Koinos' fish.

"I was there when my charge burned her house. An old man, her grandfather, uncle, father, whoever...his body was still inside. That woman, Nemarte," Percy nodded his head toward where Nemarte was sitting, "She went back inside, maybe to save the man. Annabeth was being dragged out by a man, most likely her brother."

Annabeth looked up at the mention of her Roman name. Percy waved her off.

"She was screaming and kicking at the man to let her go. She kept yelling the Graeci word for "avia." I thought maybe she was yelling for an object, like a jewelry box or a tapestry. I went inside the house looking for something of value. I found Nemarte on the ground near the man. I ran back out and gave Nemarte to Annabeth. Maybe two minutes later a foot soldier stabbed the back of Annabeth's brother's skull. He had been running with a woman other than Annabeth. She had a baby. Later, I found the women on the ship. Annabeth ran into me while she was wandering the ship. She looked like she needed help. We played a painful game of charades before I realized she needed a doctor for the young woman she was with. I made a deal with Will that if he agreed to go behind Lydus' back with me and help Annabeth and her family that I'd hire him as a physician in my home. He agreed. Still, it wasn't enough. The woman died a couple days later. That baby Annabeth's holding," Percy pointed his spoon at Hecuba, "That's the deceased woman's baby. It would make her Annabeth's niece, I think."

Sally had a solemn look on her face as she stared at Annabeth, who was whisper-yelling at Tark.

"I wish you hadn't told me that," Sally stated before turning back to her food.

Percy signed. He hadn't wanted to stress his mother, but he still felt like she should know the background to the family staying in her home.

"Aries, if you're not going to eat you food just tell me instead of sneaking it to the dog."

Aries smiled sheepishly at his father as he dropped fish skin on the floor.

"Siesta time," Sally said to her grandson.

She stood up and started organizing the table.

All the Graecis immediately looked up at Sally and started following her lead. Will continued to stuff his mouth full of squash.

"Oh, no, you all don't have to do that," Sally said.

Annabeth stared at her blankly while continuing to stacking plates with the hand that wasn't holding Hecuba.

Nemarte said something to her granddaughter, who nodded and gave a short response.

Annabeth started staking as many things as she could on top of each other. Hecuba was slobbering happily on her aunt's collarbone while she dug her tiny fingernails into Annabeth's neck. Percy winced a little at the memory of baby fingernails.

Ianthe busied herself with trying to get the boys under control with the occasional remark from Nemarte. Harpalos immediately began to clean up after himself (which was a rather large mess, since he and Tark tried to build a house out of various fruits and vegetables) the minute his grandmother told him. Tark was standing next to Will, who had called him over for something. The little boy looked relieved to have an excuse to get out of helping his friend clean up their mess.

Koinos was chasing Benny around the table. Actually, more so around Annabeth, who looked mildly frustrated as she yelled at him. Koinos ran off toward Percy, probably at the demand of Annabeth. Benny, of course, followed his playmate, except his path happened to be straight through Annabeth.

Annabeth's knees buckled and she started to fall backwards, not unlike Nemarte had when prandium started. Percy surged forward to catch her. They ended up in a weird position, with Annabeth doing a backbend over Percy's arm while holding Hecuba in er left arm and a large spoon in her right hand.

"AH! Koinos! Koinos! Ela edó!" Annabeth called.

Koinos sheepishly walked back toward Annabeth. The older Graeci lightly smacked his head with the spoon.

Tark and Harpalos snickered from where they were at the opposite end of the table. Nemarte hit them both upside the head, but she had a tiny smile on her face, like she found the whole ordeal amusing. Even Ianthe had her hand up to her face to hide her grin.

Koinos gave Annabeth another sheepish smile. She pulled her lips into a tight frown, but Percy saw the little bit of laughter in her eyes.

Hecuba, who was baffled that the attention was not on her, smacked her aunt's neck with her tiny hand. Annabeth reeled back a little, giving the baby a strange look. Hecuba responded by hitting her aunt in the face.

Nemarte burst out in laughter, as did the boys. Ianthe turned around, but Percy could see her shoulders shake like she was laughing. Percy himself had a little grin on his face.

"Do you think she's hungry? How old is she? Is she still breastfeeding? Who does it? Does she need anything?" Sally started spouting off questions.

Will nodded and translated for Annabeth, who nodded in response and pulled the strap of her tunic down her shoulder.

Hecuba whined at the sight of the breast and threw her head into Annabeth's chest.

Percy laughed and Annabeth alternated between massaging the baby's head and her own sternum where Hecuba had headbutted her.

"Here, Annabeth, sit down," Percy pulled one of the couches closer to her to sit on.

Annabeth hummed in thanks as she sat down.

"Oh, Annabeth's feeding the baby," Sally mussed.

"Yes," Percy answered, "That's why the baby's sucking on h-"

"Shut up, my love."

"Yes ma'am."

Nemarte walked over to her daughters and spoke quietly to Annabeth. She nodded in response.

Nemarte walked back over to where she had been standing next to Ianthe and picked up some of the dishes.

Annabeth watched her and leaned forward, standing a little.

"Ah, ah!" Nemarte snapped at her.

"No, Annabeth, it's okay, we got it, just sit down," Percy rushed toward her and gently pushed her back onto the couch.

Annabeth grinned and said something in Graeci that made every Graeci-speaking person in the room chuckle.

Percy opened his mouth to talk to Annabeth when he was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

Percy had his hand resting on Annabeth's shoulder while Nemarte collected dishes and Sally tried to keep Aries from disturbing Annabeth and the feeding baby when the door to his house opened unceremoniously.

"Sorry! I won't be long, I'm just gonna grab a few- oh. Oh. Percy, love, you're back. How are you? Good? That's good. Anyways, I've just stopping by to grab that old cloth I use for painting. Sally, would you have any idea where I put it?" The redhead that opened the door paused, seemingly just realizing that she did, in fact, need to breathe in between sentences.

"In the women's room, Rachel," Sally said before the younger girl could start again.

"Oh, yes, why didn't I think of that? See you tonight, Percy," Rachel said as she walked toward the stairs.

Percy watched his wife walk past their son and up to the women's room with an intense look on his face.

 **Oh. My. God. Remember last chapter when I promised I'd update sooner than a month? Yeah, me neither, it was just too long ago. My excuses aren't even good. I mean, I started school in early August so that's a reasonable excuse, but my weekend have been spent sitting around my house waiting on a fuckboy to text me back. I've been beating myself up about it, too. I mean, kid's not even cute. He got acne and his fingernails dirty.**

 **[The correct grammar for that sentence was "He has acne and his fingernails are dirty," for all my readers whose native language isn't English.] Anyways, I'm not gonna make a promise on when I'll update again because obviously I can't pull through.**

 **In other news, this chapter sucks. It's way too rushed, it's painfully short, like, I don't even want to post it because it's a good ⅓ the length of all the other chapters, and it's just all stupid. I'll try and make up for it by posting again soon but we all know how that's gonna turn out.**

 **Also, tea wasn't actually brought to Europe until I think around the mid 1600s but I thought it was funny for Percy to be confused by Greek so I slipped a terrible language barrier joke in there.**

 **One last thing: My time is split between schoolwork (obviously), this story, and a few other oneshots I'm in the process of writing (and have been since July). I don't know when they'll be up but be on the lookout for them if you're interested.**

 **Okay, I love you, kids. Make good choices. Don't waste your weekends waiting for a car-junkie fuckboy to text you back. Eat your veggies. And drink milk, guys, for realsies. Drink milk.**

 **LoverBoi2000- "** **Glad to know there are others out there with hearts and actually think immigrants are humans too"-** I'm a lil bitch and will cry at the drop of a hat so like don't get me started because I've already had an emotionally taxing week (it's Wednesday where I am, in case you're wondering) but oh my fucking god some of the videos and stories coming from the ICE and volunteers are absolute horror stories. I couldn't imagine going through that kind of treatment or being seperated from my family for even a few weeks, no less months or years. One of my teachers, she's a refugee from Syria, came to America three years ago. Her seven year-old daughter and ten year-old-son just arrived her in the U.S. Her husband in Lebanon where they stayed after fleeing Syria. Imagine being four and celebrating your birthday with your mother via Skype. It's just heartwrenching. Also, I saw that you updated Preppy Oneshots and it made my whole day. Not gonna lie, I'll reread your stories frequently. Anyways, thank you!

 **Sv007- " I have been following this story from the start and I think this is my first review. For starters let me applaud you for a really novel idea that of Percy being a Roman. There might be some stories like that but not in medieval AU. And I must say that you've chosen your names wonderfully. Aries is a symbol of good luck and represents power. But Rachel and Sally really are modern day names and you might want to rethink those as really don't fit well enough but that's my opinion. Forgive me for asking about spoilers but will you be introducing Jason in nearby future? In the end you write what matters the most to me in PJO fandom and that's Percabeth. I really hate stories with no logic of pairing like Pertemis. Perachel stories are a taboo subject for Percabeth fans but will you try this out here. Please don't make Rachel into a total b*tch as many other writers do. I say this because I see a lot of potential in this story.**

 **PLEASE UPDATE FASTER"-** I love that your first review asked me to update faster in all caps and I update literally two months later. I really like the idea of Percy being Roman and Annabeth being Greek because I think one of the defining characteristics about them is that Percy spent his life trying to fit in with the 'normal' kids in the 'real world' in the book while Annabeth got tired of the 'real world's' shit and made herself a home at camp, and I wanna reflect that in this story with Percy trying to fit in the the Romans and Annabeth having none of their shit. As for the names, you'll have to thank wRenSketched for the name Aries. I use a website called for most of the non-cannon characters. As for the names Rachel and Sally, I'm trying to figure out how to slip in a backstory for the names but in case I forget I'll just tell you here: Sally is short for Savilla. Nicknames were really common in Ancient Rome. Rachel is originally from Britannica, so she has and English name. Rome didn't actually take over present-day Britain until about two centuries later while under the command of Emperor Claudius but this is a fanfiction and not a history book so….c'est la vie. Also, yes, I was originally planning for Jason to be in this chapter but life got in the way. But, yes, he'll be introduced within the next two chapters, maybe three. I agree with you on PJO relationships; Percabeth matters most and ships like Pertemis are illogical. Also Perlia? They're….like...cousins? Like I know Nico is Percy's cousin and had a crush on him but I feel like it's different because Percy acts like a cousin to the Graces. Anyways, yeah, this story is total Percabeth and I'm having trouble restraining myself from moving quickly with their relationship because I just want some damn cuddles, man. So I've been statiating myself by adding in children and babies. Lastly, I originally started this story with the plan of making Rachel a cheating bitch but after reading your review I agree that it's just an overused and overworked stereotype. I do, however, think that Rachel just one of those people whose totally scatterbrained and not ready for a family and domestic life, so I'll try and sway her character more toward the 'restless spirit' than the 'miserable tramp.' And on that note, thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot to me. Have a good day! Or night! Or week! Or month!

 **ostrichface- "this**

 **this is beautiful**

 **that is all. thank you."-** You're a wonderful person and I love you and I think about you everyday. But not in, like, a creepy way. In, like, a 'oh my gosh I hope that darling ostrich on fanfiction is doing okay and has a good day." You know? You know. Anyways, thank you so much for your review, I love you.

 **Artemis0406- "finally in Rome.**

 **And just a quick question what happened to Percy's wife.**

 **And when can we start seeing Percy and annabeth getting romantically involved"-** I know, it felt like forever before they got to ROme, but I'm trying really hard not to rush this story. Which, based on my sporadic updating schedule is working just fine. Umm, so here is Percy's wife. Voila. And as for when Percabeth becomes love-dovey...I don't really know? I kinda started writing this story as a self-indulgent Percabeth historical fiction without the thought that other people might enjoy it so I really only have a very basic outline of the first half of the story but I will slip in as much Percabeth moments as I can. I'm kinda just bullshitting my way through life right now, to be honest. Thank you so much for your review!

 **The Fan/Guest/wRen- "The fan:I'm happy my comment made your day! Yes I ship Cleo and nice job on the chapter! I'm going to make an account very soon too! I like the name of Percy's son. And the fluff. I love you for it. I wish I could help get the chapters out faster because they are very nice and enjoyable! So Calypso is gonna come in later with Leo. I'm excited to see how Rachel reacts to Annabeth.**

 **Good luck in the future!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **A fan of yours"**

AND

" **Hey dude!**

 **This is my new account! I'd love to chat some time. I'm just starting so yeah! Anyways see ya later!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **wRen**

 **Aka A fan of yours"-** Hey man! I'm so glad you got an account, finally. Maybe I'll PM you some snippets of the chapters for being such a helpful reviewer. So, yeah, Caleo is kind of already established in the story, however, for other ships like Jasper and Solangelo, there will be a storyline. Obviously not nearly as important as Percabeth but still there. As for Rachel reacting to Annabeth…..I'm excited to see how she reacts, too, man. Cause I don't know how this will play out. Thank you so much for reviewing (twice) and keeping up with this story (and it's train wreck of an author), it means a lot.


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